In an experiment in which 18 participants, aged 20-26 years, received false acoustic feedback about their heartbeat frequency via headphones while they cycled on stationary bicycles at various intensity levels, researchers found that participants overestimated their effort when the feedback indicated faster heartbeat, but did not underestimate their effort when the feedback indicated slower heartbeat; the findings suggest that false cardiac feedback can produce an illusory perception of effort but that the brain considers the dangers of underestimating exertion levels.
Article #18-21032: "An interoceptive illusion of effort induced by false heart-rate feedback," by Pierpaolo Iodice, Giuseppina Porciello, Ilaria Bufalari, Laura Barca, and Giovanni Pezzulo.
MEDIA CONTACT: Giovanni Pezzulo, National Research Council, Rome, ITALY; tel: +39-0644595206; email: giovanni.pezzulo@istc.cnr.it
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences