Maria Rosaria Pasciucco

Background/Objectives: Adaptive functioning involves the integration of bodily states with emotional information from the external environment. Interoceptive functioning and spatial cognition may contribute to this integration, but their joint associations with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) across adulthood remain insufficiently understood. Methods: We examined associations between multidimensional interoceptive functioning, emotional object-location memory, and HRQoL in younger adults (n = 43) and older adults (n = 38). Participants completed an immersive virtual-reality Object Location Memory task assessing object recognition (What), spatial location memory (Where), and object-location binding (What + Where) for positive, negative, and neutral stimuli. Interoceptive functioning was assessed using the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA) and the Body Perception Questionnaire (BPQ), and HRQoL was assessed using the SF-36. For each SF-36 domain and age group, interoceptive predictors were screened using bootstrap-based LASSO selection and subsequently entered into multiple regression linear models together with the prespecified spatial-memory predictors. Model robustness was further examined using bootstrap, leave-one-out cross-validation, and permutation testing. Results: The regression analyses identified associations between interoceptive functioning, emotional object-location memory, and HRQoL. In older adults, selected dimensions of interoceptive functioning, particularly those related to attention regulation, adaptive engagement with bodily sensations, and confidence in bodily signals, were associated with several HRQoL domains. Emotional object-location memory also showed domain-specific associations, with positive- and negative-valence measures contributing differently across HRQoL outcomes. In younger adults, selected associations were also observed between interoceptive functioning, emotional object-location memory, and HRQoL, including associations involving neutral and positive object-location information. Conclusions: The findings provide exploratory evidence that specific dimensions of interoceptive functioning and emotionally modulated object-location memory are associated with selected aspects of self-reported HRQoL, with distinct patterns of associations emerging in younger and older adults.

Background: Aging involves complex interactions among cognitive, bodily, and spatial processes that may contribute to autonomy and health-related quality of life. Although these processes have been investigated in relation to cognitive functioning, less is known about how spatial and bodily processes are associated with subjective health during cognitive aging. This issue is particularly relevant in amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI), a condition associated with cognitive changes that may affect spatial processing and perception of bodily states. The present study examined associations between egocentric and allocentric spatial processing, assessed through positive, negative, and neutral emotional stimuli, self-reported body awareness, and health-related quality of life in older adults (OA) and individuals with aMCI. Methods: Participants completed an egocentric–allocentric spatial task, the Body Perception Questionnaire–Body Awareness (BPQ-BOA), and the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). Associations were examined separately for the two groups across eight SF-36 domains using bootstrap-based LASSO variable selection followed by multiple regression analyses. Results: In OA, Physical Functioning was positively associated with egocentric spatial performance for positive and neutral stimuli, while negative allocentric performance was negatively associated with Emotional Well-Being. In aMCI, Physical Functioning was positively associated with positive allocentric performance and self-reported body awareness, whereas positive egocentric performance and body awareness were negatively associated with Emotional Well-Being and Energy/Fatigue. Emotionally valenced spatial conditions were represented across several models, suggesting that emotional context may be relevant to the observed associations. Conclusions: The findings suggest that spatial processing and self-reported body awareness show domain-specific patterns of association with perceived health in OA and aMCI. However, given the cross-sectional design and the small sample size, the distinct patterns observed within each group should be interpreted more as reflecting correlational variations in individual profiles than structural or mechanistic changes in body–environment integration. Further studies using larger samples and longitudinal designs, complemented by behavioral, physiological, and neuroimaging measures, may help establish the reproducibility of these patterns and clarify their underlying processes.

Aging leads to progressive changes in bodily functions that affect cognition and everyday life. Older adults often experience difficulties in daily functioning due to declines in two interconnected domains: interoception, the ability to sense and regulate internal bodily states, and exteroceptive body representations. While previous studies have noted these connections, systematic investigation into how interoception and exteroceptive body representations jointly influence daily functioning remains limited. This study had two main aims: (1) to develop a battery of tests assessing interoceptive states, multisensory perception, and exteroceptive body representations; and (2) to examine whether early interoceptive changes predict functional decline, potentially interacting with multisensory perception and bodily representation processes. We tested 60 healthy adults (aged 21–87) using a multimodal battery measuring interoceptive accuracy, sensibility, and awareness, along with assessments of body image, peripersonal space, tactile acuity, and sensorimotor functions. Daily functioning was evaluated using the SF-36 Health Survey. A Partial Least Squares Regression approach identified predictors of functional outcomes. Interoceptive sensibility, particularly self-regulation and body trust, was a key predictor of limitations in physical health, emotional wellbeing, and fatigue. Mean heart rate also contributed to fatigue perception. Exteroceptive body representations, including body image and peripersonal space processing, interacted with interoception in predicting daily functioning. These findings highlight the link between internal and external body processing in aging. Identifying these predictors not only guides the refinement of the test battery but also informs the development of targeted assessments and interventions aimed at promoting autonomy and enhancing quality of life in older adults.

The phenomenological approach to schizophrenia emphasizes the role of bodily experiences in the onset and manifestation of positive, negative and disorganized psychotic symptoms. According to the dimensional approach to psychosis, there exists a continuum ranging from individuals with low levels of schizotypy to diagnosed schizophrenia patients, with schizotypy encompassing positive-like, negative-like, and disorganized-like symptoms of schizophrenia. Empirical evidence suggests that along this continuum, both exteroceptive (external sensory) and interoceptive (internal bodily) dimensions might be distorted. Understanding the contribution of these bodily dimensions in the manifestation of psychotic symptoms, even in schizotypy, might help target early interventions for individuals at risk of developing psychotic disorders. This study investigated the potential contribution of exteroceptive and interoceptive bodily dimensions to schizotypal personality traits, such as cognitive-perceptual traits (positive-like symptoms), interpersonal traits (negative-like symptoms), and disorganization traits (disorganized-like symptoms). Partial Least Squares Regression was used to integrate several bodily dimensions to understand their impact on schizotypy, revealing specific and non-specific contributions of exteroceptive and interoceptive dimensions to different traits. In particular, exteroceptive bodily dimensions generally predicted all schizotypal traits, with specific associations to positive-like symptoms, while interoceptive dimensions mostly predicted interpersonal-like and disorganized-like symptoms. These results suggest a difference in how exteroceptive and interoceptive bodily dimensions contribute to the three schizotypal traits. This highlights specific aspects of interoceptive and exteroceptive body representations that could serve as targets for early intervention. Particularly, interoception emerges as a potential prodromal marker, suggesting that early intervention in this area could be crucial.