Exploratory study of the relationship between predictive processing of the autonomic nervous system and symptoms of psychiatric disorders

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K21819
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 10:Psychology and related fields
• Research Institution: Keio University
• Principal Investigator: Umeda Satoshi 慶應義塾大学, 文学部(三田), 教授 (90317272)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 三村 將 慶應義塾大学, 医学部(信濃町), 教授 (00190728) ; 寺澤 悠理 慶應義塾大学, 文学部(日吉), 准教授 (30585790) ; 朝比奈 正人 金沢医科大学, 医学部, 教授 (40301098)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-06-28 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 内受容感覚 / 自律神経 / 予測処理機能 / 皮膚血流 / 頭痛

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Interoception, the sense of the internal state of the body, plays an important role in anxiety disorders and other psychiatric disorders, as well as in neurological disorders that cause pain. This effect is likely to occur in situations where anticipatory processing is possible. However, the mechanisms behind these phenomena remain unresolved. We first conducted a study to develop an accurate autonomic index and showed that facial skin blood flow could be an appropriate marker to reflect the fine state of mind. The results of this study may be applied to the treatment of blushing disorder or other anxiety-related disorders. The results of other experiment for the patients with chronic cephalalgia showed that the interoceptive accuracy tended to be lower in the patients, suggesting that it relates to the intensity of pain felt, not the frequency of pain.

Free Research Field

認知神経科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

我々は日常生活において不安を感じたり痛みを感じたりするが，そこには身体内部の感覚である「内受容感覚」が重要な役割を担っている．特に不安が強く，今後起こることを予測してしまいがちな人は，予測に伴って自律神経の状態が変化してしまい，それが不安や痛みを増強させてしまう可能性がある．本研究ではそのメカニズムを調べるために，まず自律神経活動の適切な指標を探索し，皮膚血流が妥当であることを発見した．次に，頭痛患者を対象とした研究を行い，患者は健常者と比べ，全般に不安が高い一方，内受容感覚が低めで，耐性ができている可能性が示唆された．これらの結果は臨床的治療に応用することができると考えられる．