Abstract
Mind wandering (MW) is a phenomenon in which thoughts wander to matters unrelated to the action currently being performed. This study focused on the role of interoception, which is the sense of the body’s internal state, as the trigger of MW. Participants completed two tasks, the heartbeat detection task (HDT, Schandry, 1981) and the vigilance task (VT). Based on the performance of HDT, we divided the participants into two groups, high/low interoceptive accuracy group. In the latter half of VT, we presented subliminal vibration stimuli for inducing alteration in heart rate (= vibration block). The results showed that in vibration block, the participants of high interoceptive accuracy group were more likely to report continuation of MW than those of low interoceptive accuracy group. These data suggested that changes in interoception due to subliminal presentation of vibration may induce the generation and the continuation of MW in individuals with accurate interoception.
