Breathing affects self-other voice discrimination in a bodily state with increased otherness

A growing number of studies have focused on identifying cognitive processes that are modulated by interoceptive signals. Here we investigated whether interoception affects self-processing, by assessing changes in self-voice perception as a function of respiratory and cardiac cycles. Considering the fundamental role interoception plays in bodily self-consciousness, we additionally applied conflicting sensorimotor stimulation inducing a state characterized by a loss of self and increased otherness, and investigated its effects in self-other voice perception. Our data reveal that breathing, but not heartbeat, affects self-voice perception, by showing that participants (N = 30) discriminated self-voice from other voices better during inspiration, while being in the state of increased otherness and especially when hearing voices of other people. Loudness judgement of equivalent self-related stimuli was unaffected by breathing. Combining interoception and voice perception with self-monitoring framework, these data extend recent findings on breathing-dependent cognition to self-processing.