The neurobiology of interoception and affect
Author: M J Feldman1, E Bliss-Moreau2, K A Lindquist3
Affiliation:
1 Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. Electronic address: Mallory.Feldman@unc.edu.
2 Department of Psychology, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA; California National Primate Research Center, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA.
3 Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. Electronic address: kristen.lindquist@unc.edu.
Conference/Journal: Trends Cogn Sci
Date published: 2024 Feb 22
Other:
Pages: S1364-6613(24)00009-3 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2024.01.009. , Word Count: 128
Scholars have argued for centuries that affective states involve interoception, or representations of the state of the body. Yet, we lack a mechanistic understanding of how signals from the body are transduced, transmitted, compressed, and integrated by the brains of humans to produce affective states. We suggest that to understand how the body contributes to affect, we first need to understand information flow through the nervous system's interoceptive pathways. We outline such a model and discuss how unique anatomical and physiological aspects of interoceptive pathways may give rise to the qualities of affective experiences in general and valence and arousal in particular. We conclude by considering implications and future directions for research on interoception, affect, emotions, and human mental experiences.
Keywords: affect; emotion; interoception.
PMID: 38395706 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2024.01.009
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