Cited by 114Embodied and Extended CognitionPsychosomatic Disorders and Their TreatmentsHeart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control

Interoception as modeling, allostasis as control

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Sennesh, Eli, Theriault, Jordan, Brooks, Dana, van de Meent, Jan-Willem, Barrett, Lisa Feldman, Quigley, Karen S.·2022·Biological Psychology

Published version of a preprint

Abstract

The brain regulates the body by anticipating its needs and attempting to meet them before they arise – a process called allostasis. Allostasis requires a model of the changing sensory conditions within the body, a process called interoception. In this paper, we examine how interoception may provide performance feedback for allostasis. We suggest studying allostasis in terms of control theory, reviewing control theory’s applications to related issues in physiology, motor control, and decision making. We synthesize these by relating them to the important properties of allostatic regulation as a control problem. We then sketch a novel formalism for how the brain might perform allostatic control of the viscera by analogy to skeletomotor control, including a mathematical view on how interoception acts as performance feedback for allostasis. Finally, we suggest ways to test implications of our hypotheses.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2021.108242

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  • In contrast, short-term symptoms are not usually associated with strong priors from implicit expectations, so ascending sensory input plays a greater role in these symptoms, thus contributing to the bidirectional connectivity between the brain and the body.

    “short-term symptoms are not usually associated with strong priors from implicit expectations”

    From Persistent physical symptoms: definition, genesis, and management (2024) · cites this paper as [86]

    Split into 2 atoms — 1 confirmed, 0 partially supported, 0 disputed, 0 misattributed, 1 unverifiable. Expand the claim to see per-atom verdicts.

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  • Functional and structural alterations of the insula might lead to imprecise predictive interoceptive signal modelling and error detection, contributing to inefficiencies in performing allostasis.

    “Functional and structural alterations of the insula (found in several FND neuroimaging studies) might lead to imprecise predictive interoceptive signal modelling and error detection, contributing to inefficiencies in performing allostasis.95,104,112,135”

    From A new science of emotion: implications for functional neurological disorder (2022) · cites this paper as [112]

    The Introduction says interoceptive internal modeling supports allostatic control, and the Discussion says interoceptive predictions are corrected by sensory data. Those passages support the proposed link between inaccurate modeling and inefficient allostasis, but the paper does not identify insula alterations as its cause; the Discussion explicitly says the model was not mapped to specific brain anatomy. No page numbers were available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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  • The interoceptive model works in the service of allostasis.

    “Therefore, the interoceptive model works in the service of allostasis.95,112”
  • To perform allostasis efficiently, the system needs to anticipate, sense and integrate signals originating from within the body made available by interoception.

    “To perform allostasis efficiently, the system needs to anticipate, sense and integrate signals originating from within the body made available by interoception: the brain's moment-to-moment modelling of the internal physiological state of the body.95,112,[116][117][118]”

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Research works printed but not linked: 5

  1. Buzsáki G (2019). The brain from inside out. Oxford University Press.
  2. Hall J, & Hall M (2020). Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology E-Book, Guyton Physiology. Elsevier Health Sciences. ⟨ https://books.google.com/books?id=H1rrDwAAQBAJ⟩.
  3. Lowet AS, Zheng Q, Matias S, Drugowitsch J, & Uchida N (2020). Distributional reinforcement learning in the brain. Trends in Neurosciences. PMC8073212 33092893
  4. Stephens DW, & Krebs JR (2019). Foraging theory. Princeton University Press.
  5. Wolpert DM, Pearson KG, Ghez CP (2013). The organization and planning of movement, in: Principles of neuroscience, 5 ed., pp. 743– 767.

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Authors
Sennesh, E., Theriault, J., Brooks, D., van de Meent, J.-W., Barrett, L. F., & Quigley, K. S.
Affiliations
Northeastern University (US)
Corresponding author
Sennesh, Eli
Venue
Biological Psychology
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2022-01
Volume
167
Pages
108242
ISSN
0301-0511
OpenAlex
W4200245063
Cited by
107
References
206
Citations by year
2026: 14 · 2025: 30 · 2024: 26 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 15
Type
posted content
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Biological Psychology (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation (1835309)
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH113234)
  • National Cancer Institute (U01CA193632)
  • Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences (W911NF-16–1-0191)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Embodied and Extended Cognition
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control
Keywords
interoception, allostasis, control theory, performance feedback, physiological control, motor control, decision-making, brain modeling
MeSH terms
Brain, Humans, Allostasis, Interoception

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