Breaking through the mind-body divide: patient priorities for interoception researchResearch in context
Summary: Background: Interoception—sensation, interpretation, and prediction of bodily signals—is reliably disrupted across a wide range of mental health conditions. A growing body of evidence suggests that interoception is a putative mechanism, or ‘active ingredient’, of effective psychological an...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-04-01
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| Series: | EClinicalMedicine |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589537025001154 |
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| Summary: | Summary: Background: Interoception—sensation, interpretation, and prediction of bodily signals—is reliably disrupted across a wide range of mental health conditions. A growing body of evidence suggests that interoception is a putative mechanism, or ‘active ingredient’, of effective psychological and pharmacological treatments. Anecdotally, patients with psychiatric disorders report differences in bodily experiences. However, formal priority setting by people with lived experience of mental health conditions has so far been overlooked in this rapidly expanding research area. Methods: This article takes a mixed-methods approach to investigate experiences of bodily signals in individuals with mental health conditions and determine patients' research priorities. We recruited two UK samples in the context of an in-person workshop (N = 25) and online (N = 47), between April and July 2024. All contributors had a diagnosis of at least one mental health condition. Using a combination of written contributions and small group discussions, we explored the most relevant bodily sensations for patients’ mental health, how bodily sensations were experienced by patients, and which research priorities were considered most important. Findings: Patients’ contributions emphasised the multimodal nature of interoception, in particular the importance of less frequently studied modalities such as the stomach and muscle tension, as well as the need to consider the causes and consequences of distressing bodily sensations. We summarise ten key research priorities for patients, spanning three themes: causes, management, and clinical/research approach to interoception in mental health. These priorities include investigating the impact of bodily signals on social contexts, techniques to manage distressing signals, and a shift of approach towards integrating mental and physical health in clinical/research settings. Interpretation: Together, this broad scoping study establishes new, transdiagnostic, patient-led priorities for the developing field of interoception in psychiatry to ensure future research focusses on the areas of greatest impact for people with mental health conditions. Funding: This work was supported by a Wellcome Mental Health award to C.L.N. and S.G. (226778/Z/22/Z), intramural funding from the UK Medical Research Council (MC/UU/00030/12), and a Wellcome Career Development Award to C.L.N. (226490/Z/22/Z). G.M. is funded by an ESRC DTP Studentship (RG84395). This research was also supported by the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (BRC-1215-20014). |
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| ISSN: | 2589-5370 |