Psychologists at the University of Surrey are inviting volunteers to take part in a unique new study examining how the brain processes bodily signals, like heartbeats or hunger (interoception), and whether it is connected to a person’s mental health over time.

Interoception is thought to be important for mental health and wellbeing, and research shows it varies between people, including across clinical groups, sexes and genders. However almost all this work compares one person with another. Little is known about how people may change over time due to factors like hormones, and what this means for known differences in mental health between sexes and genders.

To help understand more about this, the team are recruiting adults aged 18-40, to explore how interoception and mood change over time, and whether the menstrual cycle and hormonal contraception makes a difference.

Dr Jenny Murphy, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Surrey, said:

“Despite not being widely known, interoception is our ‘eighth sense’ and refers to how we process signals coming from inside our body – like feeling our heartbeats or breathing. We believe it matters for mental health, but we’ve mostly looked at how people differ from each other, not how each person changes over time.

“By following people day to day, including across the menstrual cycle and in those using hormonal contraception, we hope to understand how changes in the body relate to changes in mood, and why mental health can differ between groups.”

Throughout the study, participants are required, over approximately four weeks, to use a series of smartphone apps and answer short daily questions. Questions will focus on bodily physical symptoms, interoception and mood.

In addition, every four days, participants will complete two tasks – one of which will measure a person’s ability to feel their own heartbeat. 

Dr Murphy concluded:

“To fully understand the relationship between interoception and wellbeing, we need to understand both how interoception varies within individuals over time and why it differs between individuals. Distinguishing these sources of variation is important for identifying how, and for whom, interventions may be most effective.”

If you would like to take part in this study, please follow the link for further details: https://surreyfahs.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cCIrGLK5GIVDS3c

Please direct your queries to InSyncStudy@surrey.ac.uk