Neural Mechanisms of Interoceptive Representation and Regulation

人类大脑不断更新身体内部状态的表示，这一过程被称为内感。这项研究计划的长期目标是了解支持内感觉的神经机制，以及如何有效和客观地评估内感觉能力。利用行为、心理生理学和功能磁共振成像(FMRI)方法，我们打算研究内感觉如何将生理和认知结合起来形成情绪体验，以及最终这些过程如何塑造主观意识的心理和神经基础。此外，我们还将研究知觉间注意是否构成一种可用于实现有价值的生理状态的唤醒调节形式。从生理、神经和认知成分的角度考虑情绪将使我们对人类情绪有一个更全面的理解。

The human brain continuously updates representations of one’s internal body state, a process known as interoception. The long-term goals of this research program are to understand the neural mechanisms supporting interoception and how to efficiently and objectively assess interoceptive capacity. Using behavioral, psychophysiological, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) methods, we intend to examine the psychological and neural bases for how interoception integrates physiology with cognition to inform emotional experience, and ultimately how these processes shape subjective awareness. Furthermore, we will examine whether interoceptive attention constitutes a form of arousal regulation that may be used to achieve valued physiological states. Consideration of emotion in terms of its physical, neural, and cognitive components will provide a more complete understanding of human emotion.