%0 Meta-Analysis
%T Characterizing Interoceptive Differences in Autism: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Case-control Studies.
%A Williams ZJ
%A Suzman E
%A Bordman SL
%A Markfeld JE
%A Kaiser SM
%A Dunham KA
%A Zoltowski AR
%A Failla MD
%A Cascio CJ
%A Woynaroski TG
%J J Autism Dev Disord
%V 53
%N 3
%D Mar 2023
%M 35819587
%F 4.345
%R 10.1007/s10803-022-05656-2
%X Interoception, the body's perception of its own internal states, is thought to be altered in autism, though results of empirical studies have been inconsistent. The current study systematically reviewed and meta-analyzed the extant literature comparing interoceptive outcomes between autistic (AUT) and neurotypical (NT) individuals, determining which domains of interoception demonstrate robust between-group differences. A three-level Bayesian meta-analysis compared heartbeat counting performance, heartbeat discrimination performance, heartbeat counting confidence ratings, and self-reported interoceptive attention between AUT and NT groups (15 studies; nAUT = 467, nNT = 478). Autistic participants showed significantly reduced heartbeat counting performance [g = - 0.333, CrI95% (- 0.535, - 0.138)] and higher confidence in their heartbeat counting abilities [g = 0.430, CrI95% (0.123, 0.750)], but groups were equivalent on other meta-analyzed outcomes. Implications for future interoception research in autism are discussed.