Measuring interoception from infancy to childhood: A scoping review

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Child Health

Background:

• Interoception, the perception of internal bodily signals, is vital for development.
• Limited knowledge exists on interoceptive abilities in infancy and early childhood.
• Atypical interoception may indicate developmental psychopathology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review evidence on interoception from infancy to childhood.
• To identify common assessment methods in neurotypical pediatric populations.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature search across three scientific databases.
• Inclusion criteria applied to 663 initial studies, with 24 selected.
• Analysis of assessment methods used in different pediatric age groups.

Main Results:

• Infancy: Looking-time paradigms and Heart-Evoked Potentials (HEP) were common.
• Preschoolers: Child-adapted Heart Tracking Tasks (HTT) were predominantly used.
• School-aged children: HTTs and self-report measures were primary; limited use of fMRI and parent reports.

Conclusions:

• This review provides an overview of interoception measurement methods in early development.
• Identifies strengths and limitations of current methodologies.
• Offers recommendations to improve understanding of early human interoception.