TY - JOUR
T1 - Childhood Trauma Affects Stress-Related Interoceptive Accuracy
AU - Schaan, Violetta K.
AU - Schulz, André
AU - Rubel, Julian A.
AU - Bernstein, Michael
AU - Domes, Gregor
AU - Schächinger, Hartmut
AU - Vögele, Claus
N1 - Funding Information:
The University of Luxembourg, the University of Trier and the Fonds National de la Recherche Luxembourg (FNR) funded this research (AFR PhD fellowship No 9825384). The funding bodies were neither involved in the study design, nor in the collection, analysis, or interpretation of the data.
Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright © 2019 Schaan, Schulz, Rubel, Bernstein, Domes, Schächinger and Vögele.
PY - 2019/10/17
Y1 - 2019/10/17
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
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U2 - 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00750
DO - 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00750
M3 - Article
C2 - 31681049
AN - SCOPUS:85074650265
SN - 1664-0640
VL - 10
JO - Frontiers in Psychiatry
JF - Frontiers in Psychiatry
M1 - 750
ER -