“Lacking warmth”: Alexithymia trait is related to warm-specific thermal somatosensory processing

Borhani, Khatereh; Làdavas, Elisabetta; Fotopoulou, Aikaterini; Haggard, Patrick

doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2017.07.012

Cited by 21 publications

(18 citation statements)

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“…Indeed, in recent years the HCT has been heavily criticised on the basis that non-interoceptive factors may influence performance (e.g., beliefs, time estimation; Brener & Ring, 2016;Murphy et al, 2018;Ring & Brener, 1996;Ring et al, 2015;Windmann et al, 1999), with concerns also raised regarding the psychometric properties of the task (Zamariola et al, 2018; but see Ainley et al , 2020). Despite these criticisms the HCT remains widely employed, with its use often justified by claiming a moderate correlation with the HDT (e.g., Borhani et al, 2017;Herbert et al, 2013;Pollatos et al, 2007;Scarpazza et al, 2017;Werner et al, 2009), a task that does not suffer from the aforementioned HCT-specific limitations (e.g., Knoll & Hodapp, 1992;Phillips et al, 2003).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similarly, other studies suggest a small but significant correlation between accuracy scores on the tasks (r = .36; Hart, McGowan, Minati, & Critchley, 2013). Such evidence of a small-to-moderate correlation between these measures is often used to justify the use of a single measure of cardiac interoceptive accuracy, as performance is presumed to generalise from one task to the other (e.g., Borhani, Ladavas, Fotopoulou, & Haggard, 2017;Herbert, Blechert, Hautzinger, Matthias, & Herbert, 2013;Pollatos, Traut-Mattausch, Schroeder, & Schandry, 2007;Scarpazza, Sellitto, & di Pellegrino, 2017;Werner et al, 2009). However, there are instances where performance on the HCT and HDT has not been found to correlate; for example, Forkmann et al (2016) found no significant association between performance on the HCT and the 2AFC auditory HDT.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

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The relationship between heartbeat counting and heartbeat discrimination: A meta-analysis

Hickman

Seyedsalehi

Cook

et al. 2020

Biological Psychology

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Interoception concerns the perception of the body's internal state. Despite the importance of this ability for health and aspects of higher-order cognition, its measurement remains problematic. Most studies of interoception employ one of two tasks: the heartbeat counting or heartbeat discrimination task. These tasks are thought to index common abilities, an assertion often used to justify the use of a single measure of cardiac interoception. However, mixed findings regarding the relationship between performance on these tasks raises the question of whether they can be used interchangeably to assess interoceptive accuracy, confidence and awareness ('metacognition'). The present study employed a meta-analytical approach to assess the association between these tasks. Pooled findings from 22 studies revealed a small relationship between accuracy scores on the measures. Additional analyses demonstrated a moderate relationship between confidence ratings but no association between measures of interoceptive awareness. These findings question the interchangeable use of the two tasks.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

The relationship between heartbeat counting and heartbeat discrimination: A meta-analysis

Hickman

Seyedsalehi

Cook

et al. 2020

Biological Psychology

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“…For example, in experimentally induced pain, participants are asked to identify pinprick pain as 'high' or 'low' based on a predetermined pain threshold (i.e., the moment participant's begin to feel sharp pinprick pain, e.g., Borhani, Làdavas, Fotopoulou, & Haggard, 2017). In contrast, our SDT design employed two thresholds: below and above the CT range.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Affective Touch Dimensions: From Sensitivity to Metacognition

Kirsch

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Touch can give rise to different sensations including sensory, emotional and social aspects. Tactile pleasure typically associated with caress-like skin stroking of slow velocities (1-10 cm/s) has been hypothesised to relate to an unmyelinated, slow-conducting C-tactile afferent system (CT system), developed to distinguish affective touch from the ''noise'' of other tactile information on hairy skin (the so-called 'social touch hypothesis'). However, to date, there is no psychometric examination of the discriminative and metacognitive processes that contribute to accurate awareness of pleasant touch stimuli. Over two studies (total N= 194), we combined for the first time CT stimulation with signal detection theory and metacognitive measurements to assess the social touch hypothesis on the role of the CT system in affective touch discrimination. Participants' ability to accurately discriminate pleasantness of tactile stimuli of different velocities, as well as their response bias, was assessed using a force-choice task (high versus low pleasantness response) on two different skin sites: forearm (CT-skin) and palm (non-CT skin). We also examined whether such detection accuracy was related to the confidence in their decision (metacognitive sensitivity). Consistently with the social touch hypothesis, we found higher sensitivity d' on the forearm versus the palm, indicating that people are better at discriminating between stimuli of high and low tactile pleasantness on a skin site that contains CT afferents. Strikingly, we also found more negative response bias on the forearm versus the palm, indicating a tendency to experience all stimuli on CTskin as 'high-pleasant', with such effects depending on order, likely to be explained by prior touch exposure. Finally, we found that people have greater confidence in their ability to discriminate between affective touch stimuli on CT innervated skin than on non-CT skin, possibly relating to the domain specificity of CT touch hence suggesting a domain-specific, metacognitive hypothesis that can be explored in future studies as an extension of the social touch hypothesis. Highlights• Touch mediated by C-tactile (CT) afferents on hairy skin elicits pleasant sensations • We combine for the first time CT stimulation with signal detection theory• Better accuracy to detect pleasantness of tactile stimuli at CT optimal speeds on CT skin• Higher confidence in ability to accurately distinguish affective touch on CT skin

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“…This suggests that mental simulation for temperature would at least distinguish between cold and warm. Intriguingly, cold and warm sensations are mediated by different afferent fibres, and in thermoception research they are considered distinct submodalities (Borhani, Làdavas, Fotopoulou, & Haggard, 2017).…”

Section: Temperaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, people rate themselves as more similar to another person (greater social proximity) when holding a warm beverage compared to a cold beverage (IJzerman & Semin, 2009), and report feeling more lonely after holding a cold (versus warm or neutral) therapeutic pack (Bargh & Shalev, 2012). However, this research has been treated with some skepticism following failures to replicate (Chabris, Heck, Mandart, Benjamin, & Simons, 2019;Lynott, Corker, Connell, & O'Brien, 2017, 2014, leading researchers to seek alternative paradigms to test the essential premise of a link between physical and social warmth (e.g., Borhani et al, 2017;Fetterman, Wilkowski, & Robinson, 2018). Regardless, such results do not bear directly on the present issue of grounding language of the lower senses, and instead may reflect the association between temperature and social experiences in everyday experience (e.g., the warmth of maternal attachment, the effect of heat on aggression; Lynott et al, 2017) or have a low-level physiological basis (e.g., Borhani et al, 2017).…”

Section: Temperaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Grounding language in the neglected senses of touch, taste, and smell

Speed

Majid

2019

Cognitive Neuropsychology

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Grounded theories hold sensorimotor activation is critical to language processing. Such theories have focused predominantly on the dominant senses of sight and hearing. Relatively fewer studies have assessed mental simulation within touch, taste, and smell, even though they are critically implicated in communication for important domains, such as health and wellbeing. We review work that sheds light on whether perceptual activation from lesser studied modalities contribute to meaning in language. We critically evaluate data from behavioural, imaging, and cross-cultural studies. We conclude that evidence for sensorimotor simulation in touch, taste, and smell is weak. Comprehending language related to these senses may instead rely on simulation of emotion, as well as crossmodal simulation of the "higher" senses of vision and audition. Overall, the data suggest the need for a refinement of embodiment theories, as not all sensory modalities provide equally strong evidence for mental simulation.

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“Lacking warmth”: Alexithymia trait is related to warm-specific thermal somatosensory processing

Abstract: HighlightsAlexithymia scores were related to scores on a quantitative sensory testing battery.Two separate studies found altered low-level somatosensation in alexithymia.High alexithymic participants showed specific reduction in sensitivity to warm temperature.

Cited by 21 publications

References 100 publications

The relationship between heartbeat counting and heartbeat discrimination: A meta-analysis

The relationship between heartbeat counting and heartbeat discrimination: A meta-analysis

Affective Touch Dimensions: From Sensitivity to Metacognition

Grounding language in the neglected senses of touch, taste, and smell

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