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Dissociating beliefs about heart rates and actual heart rates in patients with cardiac pacemakers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 September 2001

SABINE WINDMANN ,
OTHMAR W. SCHONECKE ,
GERD FRÖHLIG  and
GABRIELE MALDENER
SABINE WINDMANN
Affiliation:
Department of Cognitive Science, University of California–San Diego, USA
OTHMAR W. SCHONECKE
Affiliation:
Medical and Clinical Psychology, University of the Saarland, Homburg/Saar, Germany
GERD FRÖHLIG
Affiliation:
Internal Medicine (Cardiology), University of the Saarland, Homburg/Saar, Germany
GABRIELE MALDENER
Affiliation:
Medical and Clinical Psychology, University of the Saarland, Homburg/Saar, Germany
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Abstract

Performance on heartbeat counting tasks is usually interpreted in terms of cardiac sensitivity. We tested the hypothesis that heartbeat counting is influenced by beliefs about heart rates by dissociating beliefs about heart rates and actual heart rates. In a within-subjects design, heart rates of 50 patients with cardiac pacemakers were set to a low (50 bpm), medium (75 bpm), or high (110 bpm) pacing rate unknown to the patients via remote control while they performed a heartbeat tracking task. Results showed that patients' heartbeat counting did not follow the shifts in their actual heart rates adequately, although their overall performance was comparable to that of young and healthy control participants. As a result, tracking scores decreased significantly in the high pacing rate condition where beliefs about heart rates and actual heart rates were most extremely dissociated. The findings suggest that tracking scores reflect beliefs about heart rates rather than cardiac sensitivity.

Keywords

CardioceptionHeartbeat perceptionInteroceptionMethodologyCardiac pacemakers
Type
Research Article
Information
Psychophysiology , Volume 36 , Issue 3 , May 1999 , pp. 339 - 342
Copyright
© 1999 Society for Psychophysiological Research

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