Reduced interoceptive accuracy in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder: A case-control study

Abstract

According to traditional and recent literature, one of the core features of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is pathological doubt, defined as a lack of certitude or confidence in one's memory, attention, intuition, and perceptions. Recent studies have shown that uncertainty, amongst other cognitive and emotional processes, might be linked to an impairment in interoceptive abilities. Here we aimed to assess Interoceptive Accuracy (IA) in a population of OCD patients, and to determine whether alexithymia and symptoms of depression and anxiety would be associated with IA. We recruited 18 patients with OCD and 18 healthy controls (HC). Interoceptive accuracy was tested with the Heartbeat Counting Task. Participants also underwent a psychometric assessment for Obsessions and Compulsions (Y-BOCS), Alexithymia (TAS-20), Impulsivity (BIS-11), Anxiety and Depression (HAM-A and HAM-D). OCD patients had lower Interoceptive Accuracy than HC (p = 0.016) and presented more anxiety and depressive symptoms, along with more alexithymic features than HC. However, these psychological elements were not associated with the reduced IA. This study replicates previous findings and fits with the current literature investigating interoceptive abilities in patients with OCD, which might be used to design specific therapeutic interventions focused on internal bodily signals.

Keywords: Interoception; Interoceptive accuracy; Obsessive-compulsive disorder.