Regional Brain Activation Due to Pharmacologically Induced Adrenergic Interoceptive Stimulation in Humans

Abstract

These results demonstrate the involvement of specific brain regions as well as hemispheric laterality of function in visceral perception, and they suggest that during emotional reactions involving changes in visceral organ function, activation of some of the brain regions observed could be due specifically to interoceptive processes.

Association between interoception and empathy: Evidence from heartbeat-evoked brain potential

“…In psychophysiology, interoception has frequently been investigated in terms of cardiac perception (Wiens, 2005;Craig, 2002;Cameron, 2001). Several functional neuroimaging studies have shown that overt attention toward individuals' heartbeat primarily activates the insula and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), as well as somatosensory areas (Pollatos et al, 2007a;Critchley et al, 2004;Cameron and Minoshima, 2002). Importantly, these areas have been implicated in the subjective experience of emotion (Blood and Zatorre, 2001;Critchley et al, 2001;Damasio et al, 2000;Mayberg et al, 1999;Lane et al, 1997;Reiman et al, 1997).…”

Heart rate response after emotional picture presentation is modulated by interoceptive awareness

“…Additionally, it supports the regulation of many cognitive and emotional processes (Lane et al, 1997;Phan et al, 2002). The insula, especially the right insula, is an essential structure for the processing of cardiovascular signals (Augustine, 1996;Benarroch, 1993;Cameron, 2001Cameron, , 2002Yasui et al, 1991) and is commonly activated by cardiovascular arousal (Critchley et al, 2000(Critchley et al, , 2001King et al, 1999;Williamson et al, 1999Williamson et al, , 2002. Furthermore, the insula is activated during the evaluation and the processing of emotions (Critchley et al, 2004;Damasio et al, 2000;Phan et al, 2002).…”

Interoceptive awareness, anxiety and cardiovascular reactivity to isometric exercise

“…Some evidence exists confirming this hypothesis: Using emotional stimuli, psychophysiological arousal assessed by the P300 amplitude (Pollatos et al, 2007a;Pollatos and Schandry, 2004) and by heart rate reactivity (Pollatos et al, 2007b) to be positively related to interoceptive awareness. Further evidence for a possible relation between cardiovascular reactivity and interoceptive awareness stems from research on the pathophysiology of anxiety disorders (Cameron and Minoshima, 2002). Several studies (Ehlers, 1995;Ehlers et al, 2000;Pineles and Mineka, 2005;Roth et al, 1992;Van der Does et al, 2000;Wald and Taylor, 2005;White et al, 2006;Zoellner and Craske, 1999) have shown that interoceptive awareness is closely associated with anxiety disorders such as panic disorders or social phobia.…”

“…William James was one of the first to postulate that viscero-afferent feedback is closely linked to emotional experience, stating that "bodily changes follow directly the perception of the exciting fact, and that our feelings of the same changes as they occur IS the emotion" (James, 1884). Despite its importance for emotions and many other processes, interoception is still an understudied area of sensory physiology (Cameron and Minoshima, 2002). Interoceptive awareness can be easily measured by using the ability to perceive one's heartbeats accurately (Cameron, 2001;Critchley et al, 2004;Jones et al, 1986;Pollatos et al, 2005aPollatos et al, , 2006Schandry et al, 1993).…”

“…One common observation is the existence of substantial, interindividual differences in interoceptive awareness which may depend on different factors such as gender, percentage of body fat and physical fitness (Cameron, 2001;Cameron and Minoshima, 2002). Some studies suggest that also differences in cardiovascular parameters could contribute to observed differences in interoceptive awareness: Schandry and Bestler (Schandry and Bestler, 1995a) systematically manipulated cardiac activity by changing body position from supine to upright posture with a tilt-table in combination with bicycle ergometry to increase physical load and recorded myocardial performance by means of impedance cardiography.…”