The Interoceptive/Exteroceptive Attention Task (IEAT)
The Interoceptive/Exteroceptive Attention Task (IEAT) is a novel paradigm for exploring the neural dynamics of respiratory attention and awareness. The IEAT consisted of five conditions: Passive Exteroception, Passive Interoception, Active Interoception, Active Exteroception, and Active Matching (a paced breathing condition), as shown in Schematics for the Interoceptive/Exteroceptive Attention Task (IEAT). In Exteroceptive conditions, participants attended to a circle expanding and contracting; in Interoceptive conditions, participants attended to their respiratory inhalation and exhalation. In Passive conditions, participants simply observed the circle or their breath. In Active conditions, participants pressed buttons to track the circle or breath. In the Matching condition, participants tracked the circle’s movements while synchronizing their respiration cycle with the circle. PasExt = Passive Exteroception; PasInt = Passive Interoception; ActExt = Active Exteroception; ActInt = Active Interoception; ActMatch = Active Matching.