Interoception beyond homeostasis: affect, cognition and mental health

Abstract

Interoception refers to the sensing of the internal state of one's body. Interoception is distinct from the processing of sensory information concerning external (non-self) stimuli (e.g. vision, hearing, touch and smell) and is the afferent axis to internal (autonomic and hormonal) physiological control. However, the impact of interoception extends beyond homeostatic/allostatic reflexes: it is proposed to be fundamental to motivation, emotion (affective feelings and behaviours), social cognition and self-awareness. This view is supported by a growing body of experimental evidence that links peripheral physiological states to mental processes. Within this framework, the representation of self is constructed from early development through continuous integrative representation of biological data from the body, to form the basis for those aspects of conscious awareness grounded on the subjective sense of being a unique individual. This theme issue of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B draws together state-of-the-art knowledge concerning theoretical, experimental and clinical facets of interoception with the emphasis on cognitive and affective neuroscience. The multidisciplinary and cross-disciplinary perspectives represented in this theme issue disseminate and entrench knowledge about interoception across the scientific community and provide a reference for the conceptualization and further study of interoception across behavioural sciences.

Heartbeat counting is unrelated to heartbeat detection: A comparison of methods to quantify interoception

“…Hence, it seems plausible that individuals, particularly those with high mechanoreceptive sensitivity, will develop an ability to recognize and count their heartbeats and to estimate their heart rates accurately. As research on interoceptive processes has grown (Shivkumar et al, 2016;Tsakiris & Critchley, 2016), the Schandry (1981) heartbeat counting procedure, which is simple to implement and quick to execute, has become the main method used to assess individual differences in interoceptive sensitivity. 1 However, the face validity of the counting task has been challenged repeatedly on the grounds that individuals may perform accurately by counting at a rate that approximates their heart rates but without actually detecting any heartbeat sensations (Flynn & Clemens, 1988;Jones, 1994;Katkin & Reed, 1988;Kleckner, Wormwood, Simmons, Barrett, & Quigley, 2015;Weisz, B alazs, & Ad am, 1988;Yates, Jones, Marie, & Hogben, 1985).…”

“…Hence, it seems plausible that individuals, particularly those with high mechanoreceptive sensitivity, will develop an ability to recognize and count their heartbeats and to estimate their heart rates accurately. As research on interoceptive processes has grown (Shivkumar et al, ; Tsakiris & Critchley, ), the Schandry () heartbeat counting procedure, which is simple to implement and quick to execute, has become the main method used to assess individual differences in interoceptive sensitivity…”

Interoception and emotion

“…the processing and central representation of afferent internal bodily signals [1]. Emotions reflect psychophysiological modes that themselves track and steer the redirection of physiological and psychological resources to adapt behaviour.…”

Do body‐related sensations make feel us better? Subjective well‐being is associated only with the subjective aspect of interoception

“…Recently, the concept of interoception has become more inclusive. In the broadest sense, it encompasses proprioceptive, tactile, and thermal information, pain, and also the phenomenological experience of body state (Ceunen, Vlaeyen, & Van Diest, 2016;Craig, 2015;Khalsa et al, 2017;Mehling et al, 2009;Tsakiris & Critchley, 2016;Wiens, 2005). Interoception is a multidimensional construct, consisting of at least two independent dimensions: the subjective-phenomenological aspect (interoceptive sensibility, as assessed by questionnaires) and the ability to detect internal sensory events (interoceptive accuracy, measured using behavioral tasks; Garfinkel, Seth, Barrett, Suzuki, & Critchley, 2015).…”