Decision-making, interoceptive awareness and mindful attention awareness in male patients with alcohol use disorder

ABSTRACT

Introduction

Decision-making deficits in individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) may be partly related to their decreased interoceptive awareness (IA), which is associated with some aspects of mindfulness.

Methods

52 abstinent male inpatients with AUD (current severity: moderate or severe) and 52 healthy male volunteers performed the heart rate tracking task and a computerised version of the Iowa gambling task (IGT). Trait mindfulness was evaluated with the mindful attention awareness scale (MAAS).

Results

Heartbeat perception (HBP), MAAS, and IGT scores of patients with AUD were significantly lower than those of healthy controls. The difference between groups with respect to IGT scores did not remain significant after controlling for the covariates, and HBP scores were linked significantly to the subjects’ IGT performance. HBP scores significantly predicted IGT scores of both the overall sample and patients. MAAS scores did not correlate significantly with HBP and IGT scores in either the patient or control group.

Conclusion

It is possible that IA plays a role in decision-making and decreased interoceptive accuracy is a predictor of impaired decision-making in individuals with AUD. More empirical data are needed to develop a better insight into the relationship between IA and multi-dimensional nature of mindfulness.

KEYWORDS:

• Alcohol use disorder
• interoceptive awareness
• heartbeat perception
• decision-making
• mindfulness

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Işıl Avcu Meriç

Işıl Avcu Meriç is a medical doctor and completed a psychiatry residency at the Trakya University School of Medicine, Turkey. She currently works as a psychiatrist at the Tekirdağ State Hospital, Turkey.

Mehmet Bülent Sönmez

Mehmet Bülent Sönmez is a medical doctor and completed a psychiatry residency at the Trakya University School of Medicine, Turkey. He currently works as an associate professor at the Psychiatry Department of the Trakya University School of Medicine. His research focuses on substance-related and addictive disorders.