Repository logo
 
Publication

Neurophysiological markers of cardiac interoceptive processing in first-time expectant mothers

dc.contributor.authorBraga, Patrícia Vilela
dc.contributor.authorMarshall, Amanda
dc.contributor.authorLamela, Diogo
dc.contributor.authorJongenelen, Inês
dc.contributor.authorRocha, Nuno Barbosa
dc.contributor.authorCosta, Raquel
dc.contributor.authorPasion, Rita
dc.contributor.authorSchütz-Bosbach, Simone
dc.contributor.authorPinto, Tiago Miguel
dc.contributor.authorFeldman, Ruth
dc.contributor.authorCampos, Carlos
dc.contributor.authorCampos, Carlos
dc.contributor.authorRocha, Nuno
dc.date.accessioned2025-11-06T12:27:34Z
dc.date.available2025-11-06T12:27:34Z
dc.date.issued2025-07
dc.description.abstractPregnancy is a complex biological phenomenon where two distinct pathways may produce changes in interoception (ability to perceive and subjectively experience inner bodily states). First, pregnancy modifies the parental caregiving brain network, which includes key regions for interoceptive processing, particularly the insula. Second, pregnancy also changes the strength, frequency, and/or nature of interoceptive signals across different modalities (e.g., cardiac, respiratory, gastric). This study investigates pregnancy-related changes in neural markers of cortical interoceptive processing, specifically heartbeat-evoked potentials (HEP), by comparing first-time expectant mothers with non-pregnant, age-matched females. Data were collected from first-time expectant mothers (n = 13; Mage = 32.15 years) and matched controls (n = 8; mean age = 30.88 years) at 28–32 weeks of gestation. EEG recordings, time-locked to R-peaks (ECG), were obtained while participants completed the Infant Face Repetition Suppression Task. This paradigm was designed to induce an emotion (sad vs. neutral) and age-specific (infant vs. adult) modulation of HEP amplitude. A cluster mass permutation test was employed to identify the electrodes and time-windows where HEP amplitude was effectively modulated (right frontal-central; 308 - 600 ms). Repetition-suppression effects on HEP amplitude were observed for adult stimuli (p = .049, d = 0.499), while no modulation was observed in the infant condition (p = .471, d = 0.174). Pregnant participants displayed significantly lower HEP amplitude in adult trials in comparison to non-pregnant controls (p = .046, g = 0.997). Despite significant differences only emerging in the adult trials, pregnant women displayed lower HEP amplitude across all conditions. These findings suggest that pregnancy modifies cardiac interoceptive processing, leading to an overall decrease in HEP amplitude. Contrary to our hypothesis, expectant mothers did not exhibit infant- or emotion-specific changes in neural markers of cardiac interoception.por
dc.identifier.citationBraga, P. V., Marshall, A., Lamela, D., Jongenelen, I., Rocha, N. B., Costa, R., Pasion, R., Schütz-Bosbach, S., Pinto, T. M., Feldman, R., & Campos, C. (2025). Neurophysiological markers of cardiac interoceptive processing in first-time expectant mothers. International Journal of Psychophysiology-Proceedings of the 22nd World Congress of Psychophysiology (IOP 2025) of the International Organization of Psychophysiology (IOP), 213(Supplement), 112995. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2025.112995
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2025.112995
dc.identifier.eissn1872-7697
dc.identifier.issn0167-8760
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.22/30763
dc.language.isoeng
dc.peerreviewedyes
dc.publisherElsevier
dc.relation.hasversionhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016787602500491X?via%3Dihub
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.titleNeurophysiological markers of cardiac interoceptive processing in first-time expectant motherspor
dc.typeconference paper
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.citation.conferenceDate2025-07
oaire.citation.conferencePlaceInstitute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Poland
oaire.citation.issueSupplement
oaire.citation.titleInternational Journal of Psychophysiology - Proceedings of the 22nd World Congress of Psychophysiology (IOP 2025) of the International Organization of Psychophysiology (IOP)
oaire.citation.volume213
oaire.versionhttp://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85
person.familyNameCampos
person.familyNameRocha
person.givenNameCarlos
person.givenNameNuno
person.identifier192266
person.identifier.ciencia-idB518-6A52-D50F
person.identifier.ciencia-idAE16-A494-5F8B
person.identifier.orcid0000-0002-5966-4050
person.identifier.orcid0000-0002-3139-2786
person.identifier.ridM-9821-2013
person.identifier.scopus-author-id56567519500
person.identifier.scopus-author-id32867975300
relation.isAuthorOfPublicationf9744770-c154-483e-b271-b58d1089d55f
relation.isAuthorOfPublication9e940914-601a-4978-8d5b-74e5ade7ada7
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscoveryf9744770-c154-483e-b271-b58d1089d55f

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
COM_Nuno Rocha1.pdf
Size:
55.1 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
4.03 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description: