The staircase-heartbeat discrimination task (S-HDT).

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Physiology

Background:

• Cardiac interoceptive accuracy is crucial in interoception research.
• Existing heartbeat discrimination tasks have limitations in validity and performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• Introduce a novel Staircase-Heartbeat Discrimination Task (S-HDT).
• Address limitations of current cardiac interoceptive accuracy assessments.
• Facilitate a nuanced understanding of individual differences in cardiac interoception.

Main Methods:

• Developed and validated the Staircase-Heartbeat Discrimination Task (S-HDT).
• Utilized simulated data to confirm analysis pipeline accuracy.
• Assessed feasibility and tolerability in a young adult sample (n=42).

Main Results:

• The S-HDT demonstrated higher sensitivity and specificity compared to the traditional Heartbeat Discrimination Task (HDT).
• The task successfully predicted accuracy and point of subjective simultaneity.
• The S-HDT proved feasible and tolerable in the study sample.

Conclusions:

• The S-HDT offers a more sensitive and specific measure of cardiac interoceptive accuracy.
• This automated, open-source task enhances accessibility for interoception research.
• The S-HDT advances understanding of cardiac interoception across various domains.