Gut and heart signals affect how we see ourselves
Study: Weak internal connections linked to body shame and weight
preoccupation

Date:
September 3, 2021
Source:
Anglia Ruskin University
Summary:
Research has discovered that the strength of the connection
between our brain and internal organs is linked to how we feel
about our appearance.

The study has investigated the association between body image
and the brain's processing of internal signals that occur
unconsciously. It found that adults whose brains are less efficient
at detecting these internal messages are more likely to experience
body shame and weight preoccupation.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
New research has discovered that the strength of the connection
between our brain and internal organs is linked to how we feel about
our appearance.


========================================================================== Published in the journal Cortex, the study is the first to investigate,
and first to identify, the association between body image and the brain's processing of internal signals that occur unconsciously.

Carried out by a team of psychologists and neuroscientists at Anglia
Ruskin University (ARU), the study found that adults whose brains are
less efficient at detecting these internal messages are more likely to experience body shame and weight preoccupation.

This research could have therapeutic implications for people suffering
with conditions in which body image plays a significant role. For example,
the unconscious signals could be made conscious. Further research could
even be applied to the clinic as it may be the case that brain responses
to gut signals could indicate a predisposition to eating disorders.

The study participants -- a group of healthy UK adults -- first took
part in four body image assessments to measure their feelings of body appreciation, body functionality appreciation, body shame, and weight preoccupation.

The researchers then carried out measurements of the participants'
internal signals. Some of the messages from the heart and gut are
processed at an unconscious level and the nervous system interprets these signals to provide the brain with continuously updated information about
the body's internal state.



==========================================================================
The strength of the connection between the gut and the brain was measured
by recording the electrical activity of both regions at the same time. The researchers also measured brain responses to heartbeats.

They found that weaker brain responses to the gut and heart were both significantly associated with greater levels of body shame and weight preoccupation amongst the participants.

Senior author Dr Jane Aspell, Associate Professor of Cognitive
Neuroscience at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), said: "We experience our
body both from the inside and out: we can be aware of how our skin and
limbs look, but also of how hungry we feel or how strongly our heart is
beating during exercise. The brain also continuously processes internal
signals that we are not conscious of.

"We found that when the brain is less responsive to these implicit
signals from inside the body, individuals are more likely to hold
negative views about their external bodily appearance. It may be that
when the brain has a weaker connection to the internal body, the brain
puts more emphasis on the external body and so appearance becomes much
more important for self-evaluation." Lead author Dr Jennifer Todd, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), said:
"Our research could have implications for those experiencing negative
body image, which can have a serious impact on people's lives.

"The gut and heart signal measurements used in our study could potentially
act as a biomarker to help identify, or even predict, negative body
image and associated conditions, such as eating disorders. Additionally,
by training people to become more aware of internal sensations, it might
be possible to amplify these unconscious signals.

"We need to understand why some brains are better at detecting these
internal signals than others. We expect it is partly due to differences
in neuro- anatomical connections between the brain and internal organs,
and this will be the subject of future research." Meanwhile, Dr Jane
Aspell will be speaking about her research on the body and sense of self
in a talk at the British Science Festival 2021, 7-11 September hosted by
the British Science Association at Anglia Ruskin University. The talk
will explore research on out of body experiences (OBEs), and she will
share case studies from neurological patients.

Dr Aspell's work investigates what happens in the brain during an
OBE and she will present evidence that these are caused by abnormal
functioning in parts of the brain that process and combine signals from
our bodies. This research on neurological patients sheds light on how the healthy brain generates the experience of one's self, and what happens
when that construction temporarily goes 'wrong'.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Anglia_Ruskin_University. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Jennifer Todd, Pasquale Cardellicchio, Viren Swami, Flavia Cardini,
Jane
E. Aspell. Weaker implicit interoception is associated with more
negative body image: Evidence from gastric-alpha phase amplitude
coupling and the heartbeat evoked potential. Cortex, 2021; DOI:
10.1016/ j.cortex.2021.07.006 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210903085908.htm

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