Sustained attention is related to heartbeat counting task performance but not to self-reported aspects of interoception and mindfulness.
Luca Vig, Eszter Ferentzi, Ferenc Köteles
Consciousness and Cognition October 2021 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2021.103209 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional correlational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 74 |
| Population | Undergraduate students (41 females; mean age 22.3 ± 4.04 years) |
| Measures | Heartbeat Counting Task (HCT), PEBL Continuous Performance Test (CPT), Body Awareness Questionnaire, Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, Somatosensory Amplification Scale |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Heartbeat counting Interoception Interoceptive sensibility Somatosensory amplification Sustained attention |
| Key findings | Heartbeat counting task performance correlated negatively with commission errors on a continuous performance test (rs = -0.313), indicating that better cardiac interoceptive accuracy is associated with more response inhibition failures. Questionnaire measures of body awareness, mindful attention, and somatosensory amplification showed no relationship with sustained attention. The authors suggest subjective bodily attentiveness is unrelated to objectively measured sustained attention, whereas response inhibition is moderately related to interoceptive accuracy. |
Abstract
Although association between sustained attention and various aspects of interoception (i.e. the perception of the body state) seems plausible, research on this subject is scarce. In the present study, 74 undergraduate students (41 females; age: 22.3 ± 4.04 yrs) filled out the Body Awareness Questionnaire, the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, and the Somatosensory Amplification Scale and completed the Heartbeat Counting Task (HCT), a sensory-perceptual measure of cardiac interoception and the PEBL Continuous Performance Test (CPT) assessing sustained attention. The HCT score showed a weak to moderate negative correlation with the number of commission errors shown in CPT, indicating a lack of response inhibition (frequentist analysis: rs = -0.313, p = 0.008; Bayesian analysis: τb = -0.216, BF10 = 5.865). Questionnaire measures did not show any connection with CPT-performance. These findings suggest that the subjective representation of attentiveness to bodily processes is unrelated to the objectively measured sustained attention. Response inhibition, however, is moderately related to HCT performance.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Experienced meditators and nonmeditating comparison groups | 2008 | Cross-sectional study | |
| Neural Correlates of Dispositional Mindfulness During Affect Labeling Adult participants | 2007 | Observational cross-sectional | n = 27 |
| Assessing mindfulness in children and adolescents: Development and validation of the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM). School-aged children and adolescents | 2011 | Cross-sectional validation study | n = 1,413 |
| Mindfulness and self-compassion as predictors of psychological wellbeing in long-term meditators and matched nonmeditators Experienced meditators and demographically matched nonmeditators | 2012 | Cross-sectional study | n = 152 |
| Mechanisms of Action in the Inverse Relationship Between Mindfulness and Psychological Distress Undergraduates | 2008 | Cross-sectional, correlational |
Citations in the library
Cites 6
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Assessment January 27, 2006
- Interoception, contemplative practice, and health Frontiers in Psychology June 9, 2015
- Body Awareness: a phenomenological inquiry into the common ground of mind-body therapies Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine 2011
- Body Awareness and Yoga Training Perceptual and Motor Skills December 1, 1994
and 1 more in the library