The duration discrimination respiratory task: A new test to measure respiratory interoceptive accuracy

Interoception, which refers to the perception of body's internal state, is implicated in emotional processes and psychopathological disorders. Over the last decades, different tools have been developed to measure interoceptive accuracy, or the ability to accurately perceive physiological signals. Most of these tools have focused on cardiac interoception, but respiratory interoception has been less investigated due to the more complex and less portable equipment required. In this study, we suggest a new duration discrimination respiratory (DDR) task that does not require complex equipment. Using an adaptive staircase procedure, this task aims to determine an individual's ability to detect exhalation longer than their resting reference duration. One hundred and twenty-three healthy subjects completed the DDR task, an interoceptive task of heart rate discrimination, and filled out questionnaires on interoceptive awareness (Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness), alexithymia (Toronto Alexithymia Scale [TAS]), affects (Positive and Negative Affect Scale [PANAS]), and anamnestic. Results demonstrated a good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = .93) of the DDR task. On average, subjects needed 99.22% (SD = 36.38) of their reference exhalation time in addition to reference exhalation to detect a prolonged exhalation. Higher self-reported fitness levels, not counting during the DDR task and lower difficulty in describing feelings (TAS subscale), predicted higher respiratory discrimination duration. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the utility of the DDR task as a valid measure of interoception.