Review

. 2024 Jul;28(7):643-661.

doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2024.01.009. Epub 2024 Feb 22.

The neurobiology of interoception and affect

M J Feldman¹, E Bliss-Moreau², K A Lindquist³

Affiliations

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.

PMID: 38395706
PMCID: PMC11222051 (available on 2025-07-01)
DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2024.01.009

Review

The neurobiology of interoception and affect

M J Feldman et al. Trends Cogn Sci. 2024 Jul.

. 2024 Jul;28(7):643-661.

doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2024.01.009. Epub 2024 Feb 22.

Authors

M J Feldman¹, E Bliss-Moreau², K A Lindquist³

Affiliations

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.

PMID: 38395706
PMCID: PMC11222051 (available on 2025-07-01)
DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2024.01.009

Abstract

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.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of interests No interests are declared.

Cited by

Interoceptive Processing in Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders.
Karaivazoglou K, Aggeletopoulou I, Triantos C. Karaivazoglou K, et al. Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Jul 11;25(14):7633. doi: 10.3390/ijms25147633. Int J Mol Sci. 2024. PMID: 39062876 Free PMC article. Review.

References

1. James W (1884) What is an emotion? Mind 9, 188–205
1. Titchener EB (1909) Lectures on the experimental psychology of the thought-processes, MacMillan Co
1. Craig AD (2002) How do you feel? Interoception: The sense of the physiological condition of the body. Nat Rev Neurosci 3, 655–666 - PubMed
1. Jackson JC et al. (2019) Emotion semantics show both cultural variation and universal structure. Science 366, 1517–1522 - PubMed
1. Craig AD (2009) How do you feel — now? The anterior insula and human awareness. Nat Rev Neurosci 10, 59–70 - PubMed

Publication types

Actions

MeSH terms

Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources
- Elsevier Science

Save citation to file

Email citation

Add to Collections

Add to My Bibliography

Your saved search

Create a file for external citation management software

Your RSS Feed

The neurobiology of interoception and affect

Affiliations

The neurobiology of interoception and affect

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Similar articles

Cited by

References

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources