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iStim. A New Portable Device for Interoceptive Stimulation

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Pervasive Computing Paradigms for Mental Health (MindCare 2018)

Abstract

The sense of the physiological condition of the entire organism (i.e. interoception) represents a fundamental perception that serves a correct and balanced functioning of the human body. Interoceptive information constitutes a core element in a variety of psycho-physiological systems and processes; therefore the possibility to consistently stimulate the interoceptive system with specifically targeted inputs has a fundamental value both in assessing and clinical settings. The article illustrates a new technological portable device able to delivered precise interoceptive parasympathetic stimuli to C-T afferents connected to the lamina I spinothalamocortical system. Interoceptive stimuli can be programmed in a variety of parameters, ranging from continuous stimulation to modulation of frequency and variance. Implications and possible applications are discussed in both assessing protocols and clinical treatments as well.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Gemelli, 1, 20100, Milan, Italy

    Daniele Di Lernia, Giuseppe Riva & Pietro Cipresso

  2. Applied Technology for Neuro-Psychology Lab, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Via Magnasco, 2, 20149, Milan, Italy

    Giuseppe Riva & Pietro Cipresso

Authors
  1. Daniele Di Lernia
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  2. Giuseppe Riva
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  3. Pietro Cipresso
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Contributions

Conceptualization, D.D.L.; Writing – Original Draft, D.D.L; Writing – Review & Editing, G.R., and P.C.; Hardware and software development: D.D.L.; Supervision G.R., and P.C.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Daniele Di Lernia .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy

    Pietro Cipresso

  2. Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy

    Silvia Serino

  3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Yuri Ostrovsky

  4. McLean Institute for Technology in Psychiatry and Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA, USA

    Justin T. Baker

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© 2018 ICST Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering

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Di Lernia, D., Riva, G., Cipresso, P. (2018). iStim. A New Portable Device for Interoceptive Stimulation. In: Cipresso, P., Serino, S., Ostrovsky, Y., Baker, J. (eds) Pervasive Computing Paradigms for Mental Health. MindCare 2018. Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, vol 253. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01093-5_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01093-5_6

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-01092-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-01093-5

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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