Cited by 137Psychosomatic Disorders and Their TreatmentsHeart Rate Variability and Autonomic ControlAging and Gerontology Research

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 89 of the 89 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Direct and indirect effects of age on interoceptive accuracy and awareness across the adult lifespan

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Abstract

Various aspects of physical and mental health have been linked to an individual's ability to perceive the physical condition of their body ('interoception'). In addition, numerous studies have demonstrated a role for interoception in higher-order cognitive abilities such as decision-making and emotion processing. The importance of interoception for health and typical cognitive functioning has prompted interest in how interoception varies over the lifespan. However, few studies have investigated interoception into older adulthood, and no studies account for the set of physiological changes that may influence task performance. The present study examined interoception from young to very late adulthood (until 90 years of age) utilising a self-report measure of interoception (Study One) and an objective measure of cardiac interoception (Study Two). Across both studies, interoception decreased with age, and changes in interoceptive accuracy were observed which were not explained by accompanying physiological changes. In addition to a direct effect of age on interoception, an indirect effect of ageing on cardiac interoceptive accuracy mediated by body mass index (BMI) was found, such that ageing was associated with increased BMI which was, in turn, associated with reduced interoceptive accuracy. Such findings support and extend previous research demonstrating interoceptive decline with advancing age, and highlight the importance of assessing whether decreasing interoceptive ability is responsible for some aspects of age-related ill-health and cognitive impairment.

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Crossref · 10.3758/s13423-017-1339-z

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Figures

Fig. 1 A significant relationship between self-reported interoceptive awareness, as measured by the very short BPQ, and age was observed such that increasing age was associated with poorer interoceptive awareness
Fig. 1 A significant relationship between self-reported interoceptive awareness, as measured by the very short BPQ, and age was observed such that increasing age was associated with poorer interoceptive awarenessCC BY · PubMed Central
Fig. 2 Depicts the results of the mediation analysis. Mediation analysis indicated a significant path from age to BMI, heartrate variability and time perception ability (a path; the individual relationships between the IV and the mediators; e.g., from age to BMI; Fig. 2 left), whilst significant paths to interoceptive accuracy from BMI, gender, heartrate variability beliefs and time perception ability were also observed (b path; the relationship between the mediators and the DV controlling for other mediators and keeping the IV constant; e.g., from BMI to interoceptive accuracy; Fig. 2 right). Most importantly, a direct effect of age on interoceptive accuracy was observed (c’ path; the relationship between the IV and the DV controlling for the mediators; from age to interoceptive accuracy; Fig. 2 centre), in addition to an indirect path from age to interoception via BMI. The indirect path via BMI thus partially mediated the effect of age on interoception. *Denotes significance at the p < .05 level (one-tailed). BMI Body Mass Index; Gender Male or Female (0 or 1); Heartrate Variability variation in the time interval between heartbeats; Mean HR The average second-by-second heartbeat recorded over 60 seconds; Beliefs the error of participants’ estimates regarding the average heartrate; Time Perception Performance on the time estimation task; Systolic Blood Pressure Taken whilst seated and measured in millimetres of mercury
Fig. 2 Depicts the results of the mediation analysis. Mediation analysis indicated a significant path from age to BMI, heartrate variability and time perception ability (a path; the individual relationships between the IV and the mediators; e.g., from age to BMI; Fig. 2 left), whilst significant paths to interoceptive accuracy from BMI, gender, heartrate variability beliefs and time perception ability were also observed (b path; the relationship between the mediators and the DV controlling for other mediators and keeping the IV constant; e.g., from BMI to interoceptive accuracy; Fig. 2 right). Most importantly, a direct effect of age on interoceptive accuracy was observed (c’ path; the relationship between the IV and the DV controlling for the mediators; from age to interoceptive accuracy; Fig. 2 centre), in addition to an indirect path from age to interoception via BMI. The indirect path via BMI thus partially mediated the effect of age on interoception. *Denotes significance at the p < .05 level (one-tailed). BMI Body Mass Index; Gender Male or Female (0 or 1); Heartrate Variability variation in the time interval between heartbeats; Mean HR The average second-by-second heartbeat recorded over 60 seconds; Beliefs the error of participants’ estimates regarding the average heartrate; Time Perception Performance on the time estimation task; Systolic Blood Pressure Taken whilst seated and measured in millimetres of mercuryCC BY · PubMed Central

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Metadata

Authors
Murphy, J., Geary, H., Millgate, E., Catmur, C., & Bird, G.
Affiliations
King's College London (GB)
Corresponding author
Murphy, Jennifer
Venue
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
Published
2017-07-06
Volume
25
Issue
3
Pages
1193-1202
ISSN
  • 1069-9384 (ISSN-L)
  • 1531-5320
OpenAlex
W2733981984
Cited by
137
References
89
Citations by year
2026: 14 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 27 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 2
FWCI
6.52
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Psychonomic Bulletin & Review (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • University of Birmingham Research Portal (University of Birmingham) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
King's College London
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
Keywords
interoception, interoceptive accuracy, interoceptive awareness, aging, old age, lifespan development, cardiac interoception, body mass index, physiological changes, age-related cognitive decline
MeSH terms
Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Awareness, Female, Humans, Human Development, Male, Middle Aged, Body Mass Index, Young Adult, Interoception

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