Diminished Interoceptive Awareness in Fibromyalgia Syndrome

Abstract

The perception and processing of signals arising within the body has been ascribed crucial relevance in classical and modern theories of emotion. Accurate sensitivity to internal signals, i.e. interoceptive awareness, is associated which higher expressions of subjective and physiological indicators of emotional experience and benefits in affect regulation and emotion-related behaviors. This study investigated interoceptive awareness in fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS), a chronic condition of widespread pain accompanied by various affective symptoms. Interoceptive awareness was assessed in 45 FMS patients and 31 healthy individuals using a heartbeat perception task. In order to quantify symptom severity, patients completed the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire. Patients exhibited a markedly lower heartbeat perception score than the control group and within the patient group an inverse relationship between heartbeat perception and symptom severity arose. In summation, the study revealed diminished interoceptive awareness in patients with FMS, which may be implicated in the affective pathology of the disease. Poor access to bodily signals may restrict the patients´ ability to integrate these signals in emotional processing, which, by extension, may impede optimal emotional and behavioral self-regulation.