Heartbeat perception and P300 amplitude in a visual oddball paradigm.

OBJECTIVE: The perception of bodily signals ("interoceptive awareness") was found to modulate evoked potential components, especially the P300, in response to emotional pictures and to internal signals. It remains an open question whether this variable is related to more elaborated information processing in general. METHODS: The present study investigated the relationship between heartbeat perception and the amplitude of the P300 to target stimuli in a visual oddball paradigm. RESULTS: Interoceptive awareness was positively correlated with the P300 amplitude at Cz which remained significant after controlling for anxiety differences. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate a positive relationship between interoceptive awareness and the attentive processing of visual stimuli. SIGNIFICANCE: Interoception is related to more elaborated information processing in general. This effect could be mediated by arousal differences and might rely on common neuroanatomical structures.