Comparison of respiratory interoceptive accuracy with other organ domains: A scoping review

Background: Interoception, the conscious and non-conscious
perception and processing of internal bodily signals, is often
regarded as a unitary construct, assuming that humans have ageneral ability to perceive signals coming from different organ
domains. However, more recent research has shown mixed evidence
regarding the comparability of interoceptive abilities across organ
domains, questioning whether interoception can be considered a
general ability. The goal of this scoping review was to summarize the
available research comparing respiratory interoceptive accuracy
with interoceptive accuracy in other organ domains.
Methods: We searched EMBASE, PUBMED and WEB OF SCIENCE
for studies on interoception in humans, published in English
language, comparing respiratory interoceptive accuracy with at least
one other organ domain within the same participants.
Results: The search identified 9 studies (totaling 292 participants)
published until October 2022. These studies compared
respiratory interoceptive accuracy with interoceptive accuracy in
the cardiac (8 studies), cutaneous (4 studies) or genital (2 studies)
domain in healthy and highly anxious participants as well as
participants with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Seven studies showed
no evidence of interrelated interoceptive accuracy across organ
domains, whereas two studies in healthy participants showed at
least some significant correlations with the cardiac and cutaneous
domain.
Discussion: This scoping review reveals that there is no consistent
association of respiratory interoceptive accuracy with interoceptive
accuracy in other organ domains. This supports the view of interoceptive
accuracy being a non-unitary ability that differs across
organ domains. However, several methodological limitations may
have confounded the comparability of domains, warranting further
research.