SummaryIn the past few years some progress has been made in quantification of heartbeat perception. The role of visceral self-perception in various diseases is being increasingly discussed. In some studies patients suffering from cardiocentered panic syndrome were found to better perceive their heartbeats than healthy control subjects, while the reverse was found in other studies. In the present study nine patients with panic syndrome, as defined in the DSM-III-R, were compared with 20 healthy controls. In contrast to former studies, cardiocentered perceptual accuracy was assessed with three different methods. In addition, general, psychological, and psychophysiological variables, including blood pressure, heart rate, and spontaneous EEG, were measured. While the panic group was 10 years older than the control group, no differences were found in other demographic variables, heartbeat perception, or psychophysiological variables. Although the lack of difference in heartbeat perception could be a genuine finding, low correlations among the three heartbeat perception tests raise questions about their reliability. The differences between panic patients and controls in some psychological dimensions, including external control orientations, agoraphobia, and health-centered worries, suggest evaluative rather than perceptual differences between the two groups.