Interoception, the process of sensing and interpreting internal bodily signals, plays a crucial role in emotional regulation, decision-making, and overall well-being. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between self-reported interoceptive processes, assessed through the Body Perception Questionnaire (BPQ), and psychophysiological measures of interoception, including cardiac autonomic markers (HF-HRV and RMSSD), cortical processing of cardiac signals (heartbeat-evoked potentials, HEPs), and EEG microstates. We recorded EEG and ECG from 64 healthy volunteers during open-eyes resting state. A positive association was found between the Subdiaphragmatic Reactivity subscale of the BPQ and the coverage of microstate A, a spatial configuration linked to the activation of temporal brain regions, arousal, and sensory processing. No associations were observed between BPQ scores and cardiac measures or HEP amplitudes, suggesting that subjective reports may not align with psychophysiological indices of interoception. Associations were found between HEP amplitudes and microstates A and B, as well as between HRV measures and microstate D, highlighting potential links between autonomic functioning and brain activity during resting state. These findings provide insight into the complex interplay between self-reported interoception and psychophysiological markers, while emphasizing the need for further research to clarify these relationships and their implications for emotional and cognitive processing.
Empathy, defined as the ability to access and respond to the inner world of another person, is a multidimensional construct involving cognitive, emotional and self-regulatory mechanisms. Neuroimaging studies report that empathy recruits brain regions which are part of the social cognition network. Among the different resting state networks, the Default Mode Network (DMN) may be of particular interest for the study of empathy since it has been implicated in social cognition tasks.The current study compared the cognitive and emotional empathy scores, as measured by the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, with the patterns of activation within the DMN, through the neuroimaging methodology of resting-state functional magnetic resonance.Results suggest a significant positive correlation between cognitive empathy and activation of the bilateral superior medial frontal cortex nodes of the DMN. Contrastingly, a negative correlation was found between emotional empathy and the same brain region.Overall, this data highlights a critical role of the medial cortical regions of the DMN, specifically its anterior node, for both cognitive and emotional domains of the empathic process.
Empathy is an important concept in psychology and cognitive neuroscience. Despite the controversy around its definition, most researchers would agree that empathy is a multidimensional phenomenon which involves a vicarious experience of another person's affective state and an understanding of another person's affective experience. Self-report measures of empathy constitute an important tool for both research and clinical practice. The main goal of this study was to adapt and study the psychometric properties of the Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy (QCAE), a worldwide used measure of empathy, in a Portuguese community sample (N = 562). Confirmatory factor analyses supported the factor structure of the original QCAE. Results show that the Portuguese version of the QCAE has sound psychometric properties, with good structural validity and internal consistency for both scales (i.e., affective and cognitive) and respective subscales of the instrument (i.e., Emotion Contagion, Proximal Responsivity, Peripheral Responsivity, Perspective Taking and Online Simulation). We tested both a five correlated factor structure (Model 1) and a second-order model that postulates the affective and cognitive dimensions (Model 2). Our results show that while both models present acceptable goodness of fit indices, Model 1 performs slightly better. In conclusion, the Portuguese version of the QCAE may prove a useful tool for future cross-cultural assessments of empathy in both research and clinical practice.
The ability to seamlessly integrate sensory information from the environment (exteroception) and physiological states (interoception) is a key aspect of our awareness and well-being. Alterations in these processes often result in uncertainty about bodily states and dysregulation of physiological and emotional processes, as observed in clinical conditions. In this study, we employed an interactive music system as a novel method to improve interoceptive, cardiac, and emotional functioning, combining cardiac biofeedback, mindfulness, and music listening approaches. A sample of 24 healthy participants was divided into three groups, each performing a single-session attention task: heartbeat mindful attention (interoceptive), non-interactive music listening (exteroceptive), and interactive music listening (intero-exteroceptive). Significant differences in interoceptive accuracy after the session were found only in the interactive music listening task. Additionally, all groups exhibited decreased heart rate (HR), enhanced heart rate variability (HRV), and reduced negative affect after the session. Moderation analysis also revealed the role of self-reported interoception, cardiac dynamics, and anxiety and depression symptomatology on the observed effects. Together, our results demonstrated the effectiveness of interactive music systems in improving interoception, cardiac function, and emotional states. This novel approach has the potential to facilitate intero-exteroceptive synchronization, enhancing one’s awareness of cardiac dynamics, while inviting mindful attention and calm emotional and physiological states.
This paper explores the development of therapeutic collaboration in Person-Centered Therapy (PCT). It presents a good outcome case – “Mary” – selected from York I Depression Study, treated with PCT. The study examined how therapist and client worked together throughout the therapy, using the Therapeutic Collaboration Coding System (TCCS). The TCCS assumes that effective therapeutic collaboration occurs within the client’s therapeutic zone of proximal development (TZPD), defined as the distance between the actual and the potential client’s developmental level. It consists of a transcript-based method by which therapist’s interventions and client’s responses are analyzed on a moment-to moment basis. Two independent trained judges coded 15 sessions of this case, using the TCCS. Results showed that the therapeutic dyad worked most of the time within the client’s TZPD, thus suggesting a collaborative pattern throughout the therapy process. In addition, the results showed that the client proactively interacted with the therapist, moving forward in her TZPD.
Apresentamos um estudo de caso cujo objectivo foi explorar a associação entre as rupturas na aliança terapêutica e a expressão verbal de necessidades do cliente em psicoterapia. Foi analisado um caso de insucesso de um cliente diagnosticado com Transtorno de Pânico com Agorafobia, através do Rupture Resolution Rating System (3R’s) e do Sistema de Observação de Responsividade Terapêutica Os dados resultantes da aplicação dos dois sistemas de observação foram analisados com o software de análise de séries temporais SMA. Os resultados indicam que um aumento da Expressão Verbal de Necessidades numa sessão está associada a uma diminuição dos marcadores de ruptura após três e quatro sessões e um aumento dos marcadores de rupturas numa sessão está associado a um aumento da EVN após quatro sessões. Esta associação foi mais evidente entre as rupturas de confronto, particularmente do marco de insatisfação com as actividades da terapia, e a expressão de necessidades directamente relacionadas com a terapia.
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