ISAIFS
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Interoception and Sense of Agency in Individuals with Functional Seizures
IRAS ID
331794
Contact name
Mahinda Yogarajah
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
UCL Data Protection number, Z6364106/2024/04/151 health research
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Functional Seizures (FS) are thought to occur by the brain “shutting down” through temporary dissociation. However, the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Recent research has shown that interoception - how the nervous system senses, interprets and integrates information inside the body (e.g. from the heart or lungs) – is linked to FS. For example, our group recently demonstrated that individuals with FS (IWFS) have an impaired ability to perceive their bodily signals compared to individuals without FS. Moreover, the difference between IWFS’s objective sensitivity to interoceptive information as measured by their ability to sense their heartbeats accurately, and their insight into how accurate they are, correlates with seizure frequency after correcting for levels of anxiety and depression.
A feature of functional seizures is that the patient does not feel in control of their body (a loss of a sense of agency) when they have a seizure. Our group demonstrated a link between the sense of agency and interoception in individuals without FS. We aim to extend that work into the patient group. We will use well-described tasks to examine the interoceptive accuracy and the sense of agency.
IWFS also feel disembodied (the feeling of not being in their body) during their seizures and report altered sensory perception of painful and pleasant stimuli. Therefore, we plan to explore how changes in embodiment modulate the participants' perception of a pleasant stimulus, using an augmented reality headset and a soft brush. We will also investigate how interoceptive signals affect unpleasant or painful stimuli. Here we will use painful stimuli timed with, or between heartbeats. We will see whether the presence or absence of the heartbeats (the presence or absence of interoceptive signalling) modulate the perception of the pain. Participants will also complete several self-report questionnaires, which include measurements of depression, anxiety, and dissociation.
REC name
North East - York Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/NE/0184
Date of REC Opinion
20 Nov 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion