Exploring the interplay between interoception and dissociative experiences: insights from a non-clinical population

Alterations in interoception have been implicated in several neurological and psychiatric conditions, including those involving dissociative tendencies. Thus, investigating the link between interoception and dissociation may shed light on the mechanisms supporting self-consciousness and its disturbances. Here, we investigated whether interoception was associated with trait and experimentally induced dissociative experiences in healthy participants varying in their levels of dissociation.

We measured participants’ interoceptive accuracy (via the Heartbeat Counting Task) and interoceptive sensibility (via Noticing, Not-Distracting and Trusting subscales of the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness questionnaire, MAIA). We tested whether these interoceptive abilities were related to: (i) trait dissociation (measured via the Dissociation Questionnaire, DIS-Q), and (ii) transient experimentally induced dissociation elicited through the Mirror Gazing Task (MGT), a validated paradigm known to induce mild dissociative experiences. After the task, participants completed the Clinician Administered Dissociative State Scale (CADSS) and additional ad-hoc items designed to assess changes in self-perception.

To assess whether induced dissociation was accompanied by affective or physiological changes, we collected Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Heart Rate (HR), and Heart Rate Variability (HRV) measures. The MGT effectively induced state dissociation. However, no task-related effect was observed for interoceptive accuracy as measured by the Heartbeat Counting Task.

Both state and trait dissociation were negatively associated with specific dimensions of interoceptive sensibility (i.e., Noticing, Not-Distracting, and Trusting). Overall, these results highlight a link between non-pathological dissociation and specific interoceptive beliefs. We thank all participants who took part in this study.

We also thank Lucia Noschese for her help in data collection. This work was supported by “Finanziamento dell’Unione Europea - NextGenerationEU - missione 4, componente 2, investimento 1.1.” PRIN 2022 (Project Code: 2022MWZYKT - CUP: B53D23014700006 - CUP MASTER: B53D23014690006) to I.B. This work was supported also by “Finanziamento dell’Unione Europea - NextGenerationEU - missione 4, componente 2, investimento 1.1.” PRIN PNRR (Project Code: P2022TPX8E - CUP: B53D23030340001 - CUP MASTER: B53D23030340001) to G.P.

These authors contributed equally: Gabriele Vercelli and Sofia Ciccarone. Department of Psychology of Developmental and Socialization Processes, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185, Rome, Italy Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185, Rome, Italy Gabriele Vercelli, Sofia Ciccarone, Anand Rai & Giuseppina Porciello LIFE Institute for Research and Health Care Santa Lucia IRCCS, 00179, Rome, Italy Correspondence to Gabriele Vercelli or Sofia Ciccarone. The authors declare no competing interests.