Clinical Research Directory

The Role of Interoceptive Sensitivity in Central Sensitization Symptom Severity in Fibromyalgia

In fibromyalgia, the increased central sensitization symptom burden can lead to a disruption in the individual's interoception and difficulties in managing symptoms. Additionally, impaired internal perception can also affect conditions such as pain severity, fatigue, sleep quality, and accompanying depression and anxiety in fibromyalgia patients. With this study, the relationship between central sensitization and interoceptive sensitivity in fibromyalgia will be examined, and the relationship of interoceptive sensitivity with issues such as sleep quality, pain severity, fatigue, anxiety, and depression in fibromyalgia patients will also be investigated.

Anorexia Nervosa, Evaluation and MOdification of Attention

Anorexia nervosa (AN), characterized by abnormally low weight, a significant fear of gaining weight, and impaired body perception, is a psychopathological disorder with a 1% prevalence. This disorder has particularly high relapse and mortality rates, highlighting the need for improved patient care. Indeed, patients are often hospitalized, which cuts them off from their environment and contributes to the high risk of post-hospitalization. It therefore seems essential to develop intervention tools that can be used in daily life, to continue treatment in a self-reliant way outside the hospital. Several factors contributing to the maintenance of AN were identified in the literature, including an attentional bias away from food cues. We can also mention a deficit of interoceptive awareness (i.e. low awareness of one's own bodily signals), as well as higher levels of anxiety than in the general population. Physiological dysfunction has also been observed, both at rest and when exposed to food stimuli. Acting on these aspects has led to clinical improvement in several disorders, including anxiety and alcohol use disorder. Given these elements, the investigators propose the implementation of attentional bias modification training in patients suffering from AN. Attentional bias modification training's first aim would be the reduction of food avoidance, while secondary hypotheses postulate that the intervention could have an effect on interoceptive abilities and physiological functioning. This intervention, which can be used by patients themselves, has also shown its effectiveness in reducing anxiety. A reduction in anorexic symptoms and prognosis improvement is expected.

Haptic Feedback for Improved Interoceptive Awareness and Mental Well-being

This study investigates the relationship between heart-beat haptic feedback on interoceptive awareness and mental-wellbeing. Previous research showed non-significant results in short-term emotion regulation tasks when given heartbeat haptic feedback, suggesting the need for an extended adjustment training period to build trust with interoceptive feedback systems. To address this, the experimenters propose an in-the-wild study where participants wear a Bangle.js smartwatch for one week each under two conditions: (1) Real heartbeat feedback and (2) Off-set heartbeat feedback. This design aims to examine the influence of haptic feedback on psychological characteristics, including alexithymia, anhedonia, depression, anxiety, and general mental health. The experimenters will also explore the usability and comfort levels related to prolonged wearable use, as well as the participants' ability to distinguish between real and off-set heartbeat feedback, particularly across different levels of alexithymia traits.

Hyperventilation Effects on Bodily Self-Consciousness

This study examines how voluntary fast, deep breathing (hyperventilation) affects the way healthy adults perceive their own body. Participants wear a virtual-reality (VR) headset and see a virtual body; a glowing halo around it either pulses exactly in time with their own breathing or is time-shifted. During the study, breathing, heart activity, blood-oxygen level, the carbon-dioxide content of exhaled air, and brain activity (EEG, measured non-invasively from the scalp) are recorded continuously, and participants complete questionnaires about their experience. The aim is to understand whether and how altered breathing changes the interplay between what people see and what they feel inside their body, and thereby the sense of being located within one's own body. The study uses a 2×2 within-subjects design crossing Breathing (normal vs. hyperventilation) with Visual synchrony (synchronous vs. asynchronous), with the asynchronous and normal-breathing conditions serving as within-subject controls. No medication is administered and no medical device is being tested; the instruments used serve only for monitoring and measurement. Participation involves a screening visit (including a short, \~5-minute guided-hyperventilation tolerance test) and an experimental visit.

Interoceptive Intervention for Congenital Heart Disease

Adults living with congenital heart disease (CHD) commonly experience physical symptoms alongside emotional and social challenges, which can affect wellbeing and health-related quality of life. Access to psychological services varies, and evidence to guide the development and delivery of psychological interventions for this population is still emerging. Interoceptive-based approaches focus on increasing awareness of and responding adaptively to internal bodily sensations, such as breathing, heart rate and fatigue. These approaches have shown benefits in other long-term health conditions but have not yet been studied in adults with CHD. This study will evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of a newly adapted online, skills-based group programme for adults with CHD. Thirty-two participants will be recruited through the Scottish Adult Congenital Cardiac Service and randomly allocated to one of two cohorts: Cohort 1 (Immediate Intervention) and Cohort 2 (Delayed/Waitlist Intervention). The group programme will consist of eight online sessions delivered by a Principal Clinical Psychologist and a Trainee Clinical Psychologist. Weekly sessions will explore the relationship between interoception and key areas relevant to living with CHD, including emotions, behaviours, and physical symptoms. Group discussions and exercises will focus on increasing awareness and understanding of internal bodily sensations, developing strategies for responding to interoceptive cues and using bodily information to guide behaviours and everyday activities. Participants will complete online questionnaires before and after the intervention assessing interoception, anxiety, depression and health-related quality of life. Participants will also provide feedback regarding the acceptability and perceived usefulness of the programme. Participation is voluntary, and participants may withdraw at any time without affecting their clinical care. Appropriate emotional support will be available should participants experience distress related to the group materials or discussions. Findings from this feasibility randomised controlled trial will inform further refinement of the group programme, assess the acceptability and feasibility of study procedures, provide estimates of recruitment, retention and outcome variability, and support the design and sample size calculation of a future definitive trial. The findings may also contribute to the enhancement of psychological support for adults with CHD and be disseminated through scientific publications and conference presentations.

Interoceptive Awareness, Perceived Stress, and Physical Performance in Sport Sciences Students

This cross-sectional observational study examined the relationships between interoceptive awareness, perceived stress, state and trait anxiety, sleep quality, and physical performance indicators in university-level sport sciences students. A total of 85 undergraduate students (54 males, 31 females; mean age = 20.65 ± 2.43 years) from the Faculty of Sport Sciences at Inonu University participated. Participants completed self-report measures (MAIA-2, PSS-10, STAI, PSQI) and a physical performance battery including handgrip strength, countermovement jump, sit-and-reach flexibility, and Y-Balance test. The study also investigated the moderator role of gender and sport type (team vs. individual) in these relationships, and tested the parallel mediating roles of perceived stress, trait anxiety, and sleep quality using PROCESS Model 4 with 5,000 bootstrap resamples.

A Psychomotor Group Intervention for Young Adults With Anxiety Symptoms

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a psychomotor (a body-oriented therapy) group intervention can be feasibly delivered to a group of young adults (age 18-35) with anxiety symptoms within a higher educational setting. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Is it possible to recruit and retain participants in this intervention? * Is the intervention acceptable and tolerable to participants? * Do participants complete the planned sessions and assessments? Participants will: * Attend one weekly group session over ten consecutive weeks * Participate in active and contemplative body-based exercises * Complete questionnaires about their mental health and interviews about their experiences of participating

Eyes-Closed Interoceptive Aerobic Exercise Compared With Matched Eyes-Open Treadmill Exercise in Healthy Adults

This completed single-site pilot trial evaluated a prototype eyes-closed interoceptive aerobic exercise condition compared with a matched eyes-open treadmill control condition in healthy adults. Participants attended one baseline/familiarization visit followed by four randomized experimental treadmill visits. Each participant completed the eyes-closed interoceptive aerobic exercise condition twice and the matched eyes-open control condition twice in one of two randomized sequences. Both conditions used the same individualized 25-minute treadmill protocol, 0% incline, safety harness, front-handle contact requirement, laboratory supervision, and staff-controlled speed transitions. The conditions differed in eye status, attentional instructions, and audio environment. The broader pilot project collected feasibility, safety, fidelity, acceptability, adaptation, affective-experience, cardiovascular/autonomic, blood-pressure, and cognitive-performance outcomes.

Interoceptive Mechanisms of Body Image Disturbance in Anorexia Nervosa

The proposed study utilizes a randomized experimental therapeutics design to test a mechanistic framework linking interoceptive processing and disturbed body image, with the purpose of informing the development of future therapies for body image dissatisfaction in anorexia nervosa (AN). A sample of 102 participants will be recruited from the Laureate Eating Disorder Program (LEDP). After being randomized, participants will all receive a one-hour session of acceptance- and mindfulness-based training with a therapist (the introduction session). They will then receive either the interoceptively focused treatment (IFT) or exteroceptively focused treatment (EFT) condition based on randomization. In the IFT condition participants will engage in floatation-REST (Reduced Environmental Stimulation Therapy) while practicing acceptance and mindfulness-based principles. The EFT condition is an exteroceptive intervention in which participants will be asked to view pre-recorded videos of acceptance and mindfulness-based skills to aid in the practice of these skills. Each condition will consist of one introduction session and three experimental sessions. All participants will then return for follow-up measures. Assessed outcomes will include acute changes in body image disturbance (BID) and interoception. Further, longitudinal intervention effects on self-reported eating disorder symptoms, body image dissatisfaction, and interoception; behavioral measures of interoception and body image dissatisfaction; and resting state and interoceptive functioning during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) will be explored.

Nature for Body Image

Nature exposure has been found to be particularly beneficial for body image, as recent studies have identified a positive association between time spent in nature and positive body image. Positive body image, defined as the ability to accept and respect one's body, has been linked to greater life satisfaction and engagement in healthy behaviors. Conversely, negative body image is recognized as a public health concern due to its detrimental effects on both physical and mental health. It has been associated with symptoms of Body Image Disorders (BIDs), including Eating Disorders (EDs) and Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). The Nature for Body Image (NBI) project aimed to examine the impact of a structured nature exposure intervention on improving body image among young women aged 18-35 years.

Interoceptive Intervention for Pulmonary Hypertension

Background Pulmonary hypertension is a rare and incurable condition characterised by fatigue and breathlessness. The effects of pulmonary hypertension has a significant impact on an individual's emotional wellbeing and there are currently no established psychological interventions to improve this. Interoception is defined as the ability to perceive the internal state of the body and emerging research suggests that interventions to improve interoception can improve well-being. Aims The project aims to develop an interoceptive based intervention for those with pulmonary hypertension and examine the feasibility and acceptability of this. Additional aims are to explore the preliminary results of the intervention. Methods A randomised control feasibility trial will be used. Thirty-two participants will be included. Participants will be patients within the Scottish Pulmonary Vascular Unit diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension and randomly assigned to either the intervention or control (waitlist) group. The intervention will be an eight-session online group and participants will complete measures for interoception, anxiety, depression, health related quality of life, as well as a feasibility and acceptability questionnaire. Quantitative analysis will include descriptive statistics and T-tests (including non-parametric versions) to analyse the feasibility and gain a preliminary understanding of the intervention. Practical Applications It is hoped that the findings will identify a sample size for a larger trial whilst also informing future clinical practice. This project will be written up for a suitable journal and will be presented at an appropriate conference.