Assessment of interoceptive accuracy in individuals with epilepsy

Interoception, conceptualized as the ability to discern internal bodily signals, is integral to the regulation of emotions, cognitive functioning, and overall physiological well-being. This phenomenon is delineated into three distinct dimensions: accuracy, sensibility, and awareness. The primary aim of our investigation was to evaluate the interoceptive accuracy performances across a spectrum of subjects, including patients with well-managed epilepsy, drug-resistant epilepsy, individuals diagnosed with PNES, patients with a dual diagnosis of PNES and epilepsy (designated as PNES + epilepsy), as well as healthy control participants.

The research encompassed a total of 144 participants, who were systematically classified into five distinct groups. Interoceptive accuracy was assessed utilizing the heartbeat counting task (HCT), while psychological distress was measured through the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Rigorous inclusion and exclusion criteria were implemented to ensure the homogeneity of the sample. Statistical analyses were performed to evaluate the differences across the groups.

The coefficients of interoceptive accuracy were markedly superior in the healthy control group (0.843) in comparison to the controlled epilepsy group (0.668), the drug-resistant epilepsy group (0.672), the PNES plus epilepsy group (0.575), and the PNES group (0.582). Nevertheless, no statistically significant differences were identified among the various patient cohorts.

Interoceptive dysfunction is frequently observed in populations afflicted with epilepsy and PNES, underscoring its potential relevance in the pathophysiological framework of these disorders as well as in the formulation of therapeutic interventions. Future inquiries should concentrate on exploring targeted strategies aimed at enhancing interoceptive processing and related clinical outcomes.