Breaking through the mind-body divide: patient priorities for interoception research
Author: Lydia J Hickman1, Gabriel Mackie1, Beth F Longley2, Hannah S Savage2, Emily Bagley1, Hugo Fleming1, Rachel Knight1,3, Isabel Lau1,4,5, Annalise Whines1, Sarah N Garfinkel2, Camilla L Nord1,6
Affiliation:
1 MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK.
2 Insitute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, UK.
3 Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, University College London, UK.
4 Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, UK.
5 Department of Physiology, Anatomy, and Genetics, University of Oxford, UK.
6 Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, UK.
Conference/Journal: EClinicalMedicine
Date published: 2025 Mar 31
Other:
Volume ID: 82 , Pages: 103183 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2025.103183. , Word Count: 375
Background:
Interoception-sensation, interpretation, and prediction of bodily signals-is reliably disrupted across a wide range of mental health conditions. A growing body of evidence suggests that interoception is a putative mechanism, or 'active ingredient', of effective psychological and pharmacological treatments. Anecdotally, patients with psychiatric disorders report differences in bodily experiences. However, formal priority setting by people with lived experience of mental health conditions has so far been overlooked in this rapidly expanding research area.
Methods:
This article takes a mixed-methods approach to investigate experiences of bodily signals in individuals with mental health conditions and determine patients' research priorities. We recruited two UK samples in the context of an in-person workshop (N = 25) and online (N = 47), between April and July 2024. All contributors had a diagnosis of at least one mental health condition. Using a combination of written contributions and small group discussions, we explored the most relevant bodily sensations for patients' mental health, how bodily sensations were experienced by patients, and which research priorities were considered most important.
Findings:
Patients' contributions emphasised the multimodal nature of interoception, in particular the importance of less frequently studied modalities such as the stomach and muscle tension, as well as the need to consider the causes and consequences of distressing bodily sensations. We summarise ten key research priorities for patients, spanning three themes: causes, management, and clinical/research approach to interoception in mental health. These priorities include investigating the impact of bodily signals on social contexts, techniques to manage distressing signals, and a shift of approach towards integrating mental and physical health in clinical/research settings.
Interpretation:
Together, this broad scoping study establishes new, transdiagnostic, patient-led priorities for the developing field of interoception in psychiatry to ensure future research focusses on the areas of greatest impact for people with mental health conditions.
Funding:
This work was supported by a Wellcome Mental Health award to C.L.N. and S.G. (226778/Z/22/Z), intramural funding from the UK Medical Research Council (MC/UU/00030/12), and a Wellcome Career Development Award to C.L.N. (226490/Z/22/Z). G.M. is funded by an ESRC DTP Studentship (RG84395). This research was also supported by the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (BRC-1215-20014).
Keywords: Interoception; Lived-experience; Mental health; Patient priorities; Psychiatry.
PMID: 40235945 PMCID: PMC11999071 DOI: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2025.103183
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