Heartbeat perception in depression.
Alterations in bodily awareness have been implicated in depression but there has been little detailed empirical characterisation of the degree and accuracy of body perception in the disorder. The present study examined the objective accuracy of heartbeat perception (using the Schandry mental tracking task) and the subjective degree of bodily focus (using the Bodily Consciousness Questionnaire; BCQ) in healthy control volunteers, a moderately depressed community sample, and a more severely depressed clinic sample (n=18 in each group). The community sample showed less accurate heartbeat perception than the control group as expected. Counter to prediction, however, the more severely depressed clinic sample performed better than the community depressed sample and equivalently to control volunteers on the Schandry task. There were no group differences on subjective bodily awareness. Implications for theories of depression are discussed.
Dunn
Barnaby D
BD
Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, UK. barney.dunn@mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk
Dalgleish
Tim
T
Ogilvie
Alan D
AD
Lawrence
Andrew D
AD
D000328:Adult; D001364:Awareness; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010465:Perception; D012677:Sensation