Exploring the Relationship between Exteroception and Interoception in Neurotypical and Neurodivergent Populations

探索神经典型和神经分化人群的外感受和内感受之间的关系

• 批准号: 2873110
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Nottingham
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2873110
• 关键词: Exploring; Relationship; between; Exteroception; Interoception

Sensory differences are frequently reported within the population perhaps being most commonly associated with different neurodivergent conditions. This includes in autistic individuals, where up to 96% of people have reported sensory differences (Crane et al., 2009), as well as in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Whether these differences are associated with being either hyper or hypo-sensitive to sensory stimuli, there is a growing appreciation for the adverse effects they can have on a person's emotional and social wellbeing. It is therefore critical to understand what is underlying these differences which, in turn, will help to develop vital interventions to better help and support the neurodivergent population.With the growing appreciation for the impact and frequency of sensory differences, research has begun to study how these senses are different focusing heavily on the basic external senses including: touch, smell, sight, sound and taste. An area that is rapidly gaining attention, however, is the differences in the internal sensory system within the neurodiverse population. This includes precepts such as interoception (an understanding of what is happening inside the body) and proprioception (knowing where the body is in space). Work conducted by Chen et al. (2021) has highlighted how both the internal and external systems may be interacting in a crucial way to regulate the sensory experience. From this, it can therefore be questioned as to whether this is underlying the differences in sensory experiences. Understanding whether these systems are interacting differently will be crucial to develop a better understanding as to why these differences emerge as well as focus interventions to target specific regulatory differences within the population.The proposed study aims to take advantage of virtual reality MIRAGE illusion technology to systematically manipulate the relationship between the external and internal sensory systems to better understand how the relationship between these two systems is different in the neurodivergent population. Using MIRAGE, multisensory illusions can be implemented and differences observed between populations. This methodology negates previous challenges that accompany illusions of embodiment where the participant must first adopt a prop as their own body part, something especially challenging within the autistic population. Instead, this method allows a real time image to make it appear that the illusion is happening with the participants body. Thus, this project will take a unique approach to studying the relationship between the external and internal senses and how this may be different in the neurodiverse population.

在人群中经常报告感觉差异，可能最常见的是与不同的神经分歧条件相关。这包括自闭症个体，其中高达96%的人报告了感觉差异（起重机等人，2009），以及注意力缺陷多动障碍（ADHD）。无论这些差异是否与对感官刺激的超敏感或低敏感有关，人们越来越认识到它们对一个人的情感和社会福祉的不利影响。因此，了解这些差异背后的原因是至关重要的，这反过来将有助于制定重要的干预措施，以更好地帮助和支持neurodivergent人群。随着对感觉差异的影响和频率的日益重视，研究已经开始研究这些感觉是如何不同的，重点关注基本的外部感觉，包括：触觉，嗅觉，视觉，声音和味觉。然而，一个迅速引起关注的领域是神经多样性人群内部感觉系统的差异。这包括诸如内感受（对身体内部发生的事情的理解）和本体感受（知道身体在空间中的位置）等概念。Chen等人（2021）进行的工作强调了内部和外部系统如何以一种至关重要的方式相互作用来调节感官体验。由此，我们可以质疑这是否是感官体验差异的基础。了解这些系统是否以不同的方式相互作用，对于更好地理解为什么会出现这些差异以及针对人群中特定的调节差异进行重点干预至关重要。拟议的研究旨在利用虚拟现实MINUS错觉技术系统地操纵外部和内部感觉系统之间的关系，以更好地了解这些系统之间的关系两个系统是不同的在neurodivergent人口。使用MINUS，可以实现多感官错觉，并观察不同人群之间的差异。这种方法否定了先前伴随着化身幻觉的挑战，参与者必须首先采用一个道具作为自己的身体部位，这在自闭症人群中尤其具有挑战性。相反，这种方法允许一个真实的时间图像，使它看起来是幻觉发生在参与者的身体。因此，该项目将采取独特的方法来研究外部和内部感觉之间的关系，以及这在神经多样性人群中可能有何不同。