The Emerging Science of Interoception: Sensing, Integrating, Interpreting, and Regulating Signals within the Self


Author: Wen G Chen1, Dana Schloesser2, Angela M Arensdorf3, Janine M Simmons4, Changhai Cui5, Rita Valentino6, James W Gnadt7, Lisbeth Nielsen8, Coryse St Hillaire-Clarke8, Victoria Spruance9, Todd S Horowitz10, Yolanda F Vallejo11, Helene M Langevin3

Affiliation: <sup>1</sup> National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. Electronic address: chenw@mail.nih.gov.

<sup>2</sup> Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR), NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.

<sup>3</sup> National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.

<sup>4</sup> National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.

<sup>5</sup> National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.

<sup>6</sup> National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.

<sup>7</sup> National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.

<sup>8</sup> National Institute on Aging (NIA), NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.

<sup>9</sup> National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.

<sup>10</sup> National Cancer Institute (NCI), NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.

<sup>11</sup> National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Conference/Journal: Trends Neurosci
Date published: 2021 Jan 1
Other:
 Volume ID: 44   ,  Issue ID: 1   ,  Pages: 3-16   ,  Special Notes: doi: 10.1016/j.tins.2020.10.007.   ,  Word Count: 108  
    Interoception refers to the representation of the internal states of an organism, and includes the processes by which it senses, interprets, integrates, and regulates signals from within itself. This review presents a unified research framework and attempts to offer definitions for key terms to describe the processes involved in interoception. We elaborate on these definitions through illustrative research findings, and provide brief overviews of central aspects of interoception, including the anatomy and function of neural and non-neural pathways, diseases and disorders, manipulations and interventions, and predictive modeling. We conclude with discussions about major research gaps and challenges.



Keywords: autonomic; insula; parasympathetic; spinal; sympathetic; vagal.



PMID: 33378655 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2020.10.007