Interoception the foundation for: mind's sensing of 'self,' physiological responses, cognitive discrimination and dysregulation.
Pollard-Wright Holly
Communicative & Integrative Biology December 10, 2020 DOI: 10.1080/19420889.2020.1846922 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Interoception Bayesian inference Consciousness Emotional dysregulation Energy Interoceptive exposure Mind |
| Key points | Argues that interoception offers a transdisciplinary framework for understanding the mind, with interoceptive information shaping sensory and cognitive processing and linking unconscious events to conscious mental life. Contends that heightened interoceptive sensitivity is associated with many neuropsychiatric and general medical conditions, and that cultivating interoceptive awareness may promote well-being and stress resilience in treating emotional dysregulation and interoceptive abnormalities. |
Abstract
This article presents a theory of mind whereby interoception (i.e., a sense of signals originating from the body) provides a transdisciplinary framework in which theories from diverse fields may be conformed to ideas from other areas of science. Through a science of interoception, the mind itself investigates the mind and thus can explore how the universe and consciousness came about and understand how interoceptive processing is shaped by experience. Interoception provides a metastable network that enables individuals to compute the significance of stimuli as physiological changes in its complex global context. Both sensory and much cognitive discrimination and integration are affected by the flow of interoceptive information that acts as cues whereby unconscious events may be correlated with conscious events and the reportable content of mental life. Heightened interoceptive sensitivity and individuals who show augmented interoceptive sensitivity are susceptible to a wide range of neuropsychiatric as well as general medical conditions. Physiological responses can be measured and interoceptive awareness cultivated to generate well-being and stress resilience in the treatment of emotional dysregulation and interoceptive abnormalities.