Childhood trauma affects stress-related interoceptive accuracy

Early life adversity (ELA) may cause permanent disturbances in brain-body signaling. These
disturbances are thought to contribute to physical symptoms and emotional dysregulation in
adulthood. The current study investigated the effects of childhood trauma on young adults’
interoceptive accuracy as an indicator of brain-body communication that may be dysregulated
by ELA. Sixty-six participants completed an online-questionnaire followed by a laboratory
session including the socially-evaluated cold pressor stress test during which ECG, salivary
cortisol and interoceptive accuracy were assessed. Childhood trauma was negatively related
to interoceptive accuracy (IAc) after the stressor. This stress-effect could not be observed for
heart rate and cortisol, which were unrelated to IAc. Participants reporting higher baseline
unpleasantness exhibited lower IAc after the stressor, while increases in unpleasantness due
to the stressor were associated with higher IAc. Unpleasantness at baseline mediated the
effect of childhood trauma on IAc after the stressor.