The Role of Interoception in Felt Presence and Psychosis Risk

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Felt presence (FP) is the sensation of a nearby entity without sensory evidence, common in healthy adults and linked to psychosis risk.
• Interoception, the perception of bodily signals, may influence FP by affecting self-other distinction.
• This study is the first to explore the relationship between felt presence and interoception.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between felt presence (FP) and interoception across multiple dimensions.
• To examine how interoceptive accuracy, insight, and beliefs relate to FP and psychosis risk.
• To understand the potential role of interoception in the misattribution of internal signals in FP.

Main Methods:

• 55 healthy adults completed the heartbeat counting task for interoceptive accuracy and insight.
• Participants underwent social viewing conditions (self-view, other-view, baseline).
• Measures included psychosis risk screening (Prodromal Questionnaire-16), self-other overlap (Inclusion of Other in the Self Scale), and interoceptive awareness (MAIA-2).

Main Results:

• Individuals with FP reported more psychotic experiences and experienced FP more often when alone.
• The 'other-view' condition impaired interoceptive accuracy and insight.
• FP was associated with reduced trust in bodily signals and intact interoceptive insight when self-other overlap was low, contrasting with high psychosis risk.

Conclusions:

• Interoceptive accuracy was preserved in FP, but trust and insight were reduced, potentially leading to misattribution of internal signals.
• Preserved interoceptive accuracy may offer a protective mechanism against psychosis risk.
• Interoceptive training could enhance resilience in individuals at risk for psychosis.