ADIE-FS - Aligning Dimensions of Interoceptive Experience in Patients With Functional Seizures

Functional seizures are common and harmful. They look like epileptic seizures but are not caused by the excess electrical discharges in the brain that arise in epilepsy. Recent research by our and other groups has shown that interoception may play an important role in the development of functional seizures. Interoception refers to the process by which the nervous system senses, interprets and integrates information from inside the body. Research using heartbeat recognition tests has shown that persons with functional seizures have a reduced ability to accurately read out signals originating from within their body, and that this corresponds with seizure frequency and other symptomatology. Separate research has shown that actively training an individual interoceptively using cardiac interoceptive tasks can reduce anxiety levels and somatic symptoms.

The primary objective of this study is to demonstrate the feasibility of an interoceptive therapy program to reduce functional seizure severity and/or duration for patients. The secondary objective is to ascertain if the interoceptive therapy program leads to an improvement in interoceptive measurements, health-related quality of life, exercise, psychosocial functioning, psychiatric symptoms, psychological distress, and somatic symptom benefit for patients.

This is an open label, feasibility and pilot study. There will be two arms, an intervention arm and a treatment as usual arm. We aim to recruit 10 participants in each arm (n=20 in total).

Participants with functional seizures will be recruited from UCLH (University College London Hospitals) neurology services. At an initial face-to-face meeting participants will sign the consent form and complete further questionnaires, in addition to those they have already completed at home. Participants will then be randomised to one of two groups, an intervention group and treatment as usual group. Participants in both groups will complete two cardiac interoceptive tasks at baseline. A schedule for the six interoceptive training sessions will then be agreed for those participants in the intervention group, and completed within two months. During each training session the participant will complete the cardiac interoceptive tasks with active feedback, before and after a 2 to 3 minute period of self-directed exercise whose purpose is to elevate the heartbeat. The purpose of the exercise is ultimately to increase cardiovascular arousal and accompanying sensations such that it is easier for them to perceive their heartbeat in the interoceptive tasks.

After the final training session, participants in both groups will complete the same set of questionnaires, and have one further face-to-face meeting, where they will complete the cardiac interoceptive tasks again. Participants in both groups will also be followed up at 3 months and repeat both the questionnaires and interoceptive testing.