Interaction Between Interoception and Vestibular Processing in Risk-Taking: Neurocognitive Perspectives and Criminological Implications

Risk-taking behaviour is a complex type of decision-making influenced by cognitive, emotional and bodily processes. The current study investigated the potential role of vestibular disruption through high-frequency sinusoidal Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation (GVS) in risk-taking and its relationship with interoception. Ten healthy participants underwent two active and one sham GVS sessions, in which they performed two behavioural tasks: the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) and the Heartbeat Counting Task (HCT). Moreover, they completed the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness – Second Edition (MAIA – 2), the General Risk Propensity Scale (GRiPS), the State – Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI X – 1 and X – 2), the Beck Depression Inventory – Second Edition (BDI – II), and the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ). No significant differences in BART performance were found between active and sham stimulation conditions, as well as no significant differences in the HCT interoceptive accuracy and no interaction between vestibular stimulation and interoceptive measures emerged. However, participants with higher MAIA – 2 total scores (i.e., the sum of all items) showed high levels of risk-taking during the BART. Exploratory correlations further suggested associations between interoception and risk-taking behaviour. Overall, the findings do not support a generic effect of GVS on decision-making or interoception, but interoceptive sensibility may represent an individual-difference factor relevant for risky behaviours. Translational applicability of research in forensic and justice contexts is discussed, as in the literature risk-taking is overlapping with Gottfredson and Hirschi’s self-control concept in the General Theory of Crime. Addressing risk-taking is relevant for informed and critical approaches to neuroprediction, social rehabilitation, and ultimately reintegration into society of criminal offenders.