| Body awareness is the positive aspect of interoceptive sensitivity,refers to an awareness of and attentional focus on internal bodily sensations,that is the subjective aspect of proprioception and interoception that enter conscious awareness,which plays an important role in the physical and mental health.Heightened body awareness is conducive for increasing understanding of bodily state and improve individuals’health and well-being.Traditionally,a great deal of research focused on anxiety,panic disorder,etc.Therefore,interoceptive sensitivity measures the sensitivity of somatic symptoms that cause anxiety and other diseases.Few studies have explored the positive aspects of interoceptive sensitivity,until Mehling(2016)distinguishes interoceptive sensitivity according to the attentional cues,body awareness is the mindful attention aspect of interoceptive sensitivity.On the one hand,previous studies focused on the sensitivity of anxiety-driven attention and lacked the exploration of body awareness and its related neural mechanisms.On the other hand,studies have shown that various behavioral interventions such as body awareness therapy,yoga,and mindfulness can improve individual’s body awareness,and it is reflected in the change of structure and function.To exploring the specific structural and functional brain patterns underlying body awareness is conducive for adding pathways of neurological intervention.Moreover,numerous evidence showed an important role of body awareness in physical and mental health,therefore,it is of certain significance to further discuss the role of body awareness in physical and mental health based on the neural relevance of body awareness.Based on the above background,We first conducted a revision and reliability and validity test of the body awareness questionnaire in the Chinese population in order to obtain a localized measurement tool.Next,we explored the relation between body awareness and gray matter volume and resting-state functional connectivity in a large sample,and investigated the potential relationships among the neural correlates of body awareness and subjective well-being.Finally,we conducted structural-functional connectivity coupling analysis to investigate the relationship between body awareness and structural-functional coupling.This study consists of four parts.Study 1:A total of 733 Chinese college students completed the Body Awareness Questionnaire(365 students for sample one;368 students for sample two).Item analysis and primary exploratory factor analysis(EFA)were performed using the sample one.Confirmatory factor analysis(CFA)was performed using the sample two.400 students(sample 3)were randomly selected from total sample for criterion validity and reliability.Results show that the Chinese version of Body Awareness Questionnaire consisted of 15 items,Which well-fitted the three-factors modelχ~2/df=2.705(df=87),CFI=0.924,TLI=0.908,GFI=0.921,IFI=0.925,RMSEA=0.068.The internal consistency coefficient was 0.893,the split-half reliability is 0.773,the scores of BAQ had significant correlations with criterion scale.The above results indicate that the revised Chinese version of the body awareness questionnaire has good reliability and validity and can be used to measure the ability of body awareness.Study 2 analyzed the structural image data in a large sample(N=686),exploring the relationship between body awareness and gray matter volume and its covariable regions.Result showed that body awareness scores were significantly negatively correlated with gray matter volume in the right inferior frontal gyrus,opercular part(IFGoperc).We found no regions generating covariant relationships with it.Study 3 analyzed the resting-state data in a large sample(N=686),exploring the relationship between body awareness and seed-based functional connectivity and whole-brain functional network connectivity,as well as the relationship with subjective well-being.The results showed that body awareness was positively correlated with functional connections of IFGoperc-precuneus(PCUN)and IFGoperc-left anterior supramargional gyrus(aSMG),and was inversely related to the functional connections of IFGoperc-lateral occipital cortex,superior division(sLOC;left and right)and IFGoperc-medial frontal cortex(MedFC).Next,the default mode network(DMN),the fronto-parietal task control network(FPN),the sensory/somatomotor network(SMN),and the visual network(VN)are the main networks related to body awareness because they contain the largest number of associated nodes.Crucially,the inferior frontal gyrus,triangular part(IFGtriang)in the FPN acted as the hub that linked other networks,among all between-network connectivities.Moreover,the functional connectivity values of IFGoperc-PCUN can modulate the relationship between body awareness and subjective well-being,that is the functional connectivity of IFGoperc-PCUN has a positive effect on promoting the relationship between body awareness and subjective well-being.Study 4 integrates two modalities on the basis of study two and study three to further analyze the relationship between body awareness and structural-functional coupling.The results showed that there is a positive relationship between structural connection and functional connection,and a negative correlation between body awareness and structural-functional coupling.In conclusion,the study yielded the following main conclusions:(1)The revised Chinese version of the Body Awareness Questionnaire has good reliability and validity and can be used in Chinese populations.(2)Body awareness scores were significantly negatively correlated with gray matter volume in the right IFGoperc.(3)The key functional networks of body awareness include the DMN,the FPN,the SMN and the VN,and the IFGtriang in the FPN plays an important role in connecting all other networks.(4)There was a negative correlation between body awareness scores and structural-functional coupling.(5)Functional connectivity of IFGoperc-PCUN plays an important role in promoting the relationship between body awareness and subjective well-being.The main innovations of this study are:(1)Translation and revision of the Chinese version of the body awareness questionnaire for the first time;(2)The important gray matter volume and functional networks of body awareness were found in a large sample,and the inferior frontal gyrus was a key area of body awareness;(3)IFGoperc-PCUN connectivity promotes the relationship between body awareness and subjective well-being.Our findings demonstrated that body awareness was reflected by specific neural patterns mainly involved in cognitive-affective control,attentional and self-referential processing,as well as multisensory integration,and the connectivity patterns in some regions play a positive role in promoting the relationship between body awareness and subjective well-being,which could offer some references for current therapies(e.g.,mindfulness,yoga training)that are dedicated to solving health problems and improving individual well-being. |
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