What is Interoception?
Interoception is the sense of the internal state of the body, including heartbeat, breathing, hunger, temperature, pain, and gut sensations. It is the foundation of emotional awareness and contributes to decision-making, self-regulation, and mental health.
How it works
Interoceptive accuracy (how well a person can detect their own physiological states, like counting their heartbeat without taking their pulse) varies widely across individuals and correlates with emotional awareness, anxiety sensitivity, and decision-making quality. People with greater interoceptive accuracy experience emotions more intensely and are better at using gut feelings to guide decisions (somatic marker hypothesis). The anterior insula is the primary cortical region for interoceptive processing.
Applied example
A person who can accurately sense when their heart rate increases during a negotiation can use this signal to recognize that they are becoming anxious and adjust their strategy. A person with poor interoceptive awareness may not notice the anxiety until it manifests as a rash decision.
Why it matters
Interoception is the body’s contribution to decision-making, providing the physiological signals that the brain interprets as gut feelings, emotions, and motivational states.
