Interoception

Definition

The sense of the internal, physiological condition of the body and organs (Craig 2002). Interoceptive signals arise from bodily tissues and organs such as the heart, lungs, GI tract, bladder, and skin. Sensing these interoceptive signals leads to the experience of body states such as pain, hunger, satiety, thirst, elimination, and sexual arousal. Furthermore, awareness of these internal body signals leads to the clear detection of emotions including anxiety, frustration, and calmness. An intact interoceptive system is positively correlated with emotional regulation (e.g., Füstös et al. 2012), intuitive eating (e.g., Herbert and Pollatos 2012), typical pain response (e.g., Weiss et al. 2014), self-awareness (e.g. Modinos et al. 2009; Tsakiris et al. 2007), intuitive decision-making (e.g., Bechara and Damasio 2005; Dunn et al. 2010; Gu and Fitzgerald 2014), and emotional perspective taking (e.g., Grynberg and Pollatos 2015; Singer et al. 2004). Conversely, interoceptive...