Interoception is the awareness of our physiological states; it’s how animals and humans know they’re hungry or thirsty, and how they know when they’ve had enough to eat or drink. But precisely how the brain estimates the state of the body and reacts to it remains unclear. In a paper published in the journal Neuron, neuroscientists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) shed new light on the process, demonstrating that a region of the brain called the insular cortex orchestrates how signals from the body are interpreted and acted upon. The work represents the first steps toward understanding the neural basis of interoception, which could in turn allow researchers to address key questions in eating disorders, obesity, drug addiction, and a host of other diseases. (1)

I feel hungry.

I know I am.

My brain thinks so.

Based on input from the stomach.

I feel alive.

My brain thought of that.

Based on input from the stomach.

I feel existing.

My brain thought of that.

Based on input from the stomach.

Do you feel it?

My stomach feels weird…

I know it is just my stomach.

Based on input from… ?