page_title: Interoception
section_title: Research and treatments
hierarchical_section_title: Interoception / Research and treatments
caption_attribution_description: English: A guy floating in a float tank
context_page_description: Interoception is contemporarily defined as the sense of the internal state of the body. This can be both conscious and non-conscious. It encompasses the brain's process of integrating signals relayed from the body into specific subregions—like the brainstem, thalamus, insula, somatosensory, and anterior cingulate cortex—allowing for a nuanced representation of the physiological state of the body. This is important for maintaining homeostatic conditions in the body and, potentially, aiding in self-awareness.
  Interoceptive signals are projected to the brain via a diversity of neural pathways that allow for the sensory processing and prediction of internal bodily states. Misrepresentations of internal states, or a disconnect between the body's signals and the brain's interpretation and prediction of those signals, have been suggested to underlie some mental disorders such as anxiety, depression, panic disorder, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, posttraumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, autism spectrum disorders, somatic symptom disorder, and illness anxiety disorder.
  The contemporary definition of interoception is not synonymous with the term “visceroception”.
context_section_description: As attention on interoception increases among the scientific community, new research methods and treatment tactics are beginning to emerge. Ongoing research in interoception has shown the importance of perturbing interoceptive systems. This allows researchers the ability to document the effects of non-baseline states, which occur during times of panic or anxiety. It also provides the participant the ability to gauge the intensity of sensations within the body. This can be done through pharmacological interventions, balloon distensions, or respiratory breathing loads depending on the interoceptive system of interest.
  Another research method used to study interoception is specialized flotation environments. Floating removes external stimuli so that individuals can more easily focus on the interoceptive sensations within their bodies. One idea with floating is that over many float sessions, patients with different kinds of disorders may learn to become more attuned or tolerant of their interoceptive sensations not only in the float tank but also in their everyday lives.
  Whole body hyperthermia may provide a new treatment technique for major depressive disorder. It is thought that reducing one of the bodily symptoms of depression, which is increased inflammation, using whole body hyperthermia will also reduce depressive feelings represented in the brain. In theory, these techniques will help patients better attune themselves to their interoceptive sensations, allowing them a better understanding of what occurs in their bodies.
  Acupuncture is an alternative treatment type for many people suffering from anxiety and depression. Typically, it is self-prescribed by patients; however, results are inconclusive on its ability to manage symptoms of depression. Recently, massage therapy has been shown to have the ability to reduce symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder.
  Meditation and mindfulness have been looked into as possible techniques to enhance interoceptive awareness based on their tendency to redirect focus within oneself. However, studies show that even though meditation and mindfulness practices promote attention to interoceptive sensations, they do not clearly increase interoceptive awareness in specific domains such as breath or body [null monitoring.]
  Although a universal definition of interoception has not been reached, research on interoception and psychiatric disorders has shown a link between interoceptive processing and mental disorders. It has been proposed that exposure therapy, commonly used among anxiety disorders, may provide a basis for a model of interoceptive exposure therapy that could be incorporated into treatment plans of different psychiatric disorders. One proposal states that multiple interoceptive challenges assessing different physiological systems could provide diagnosticians with the ability to create an “interoceptive profile” for a specific individual, creating a patient-specific treatment plan.
caption: An open float pool
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