In a groundbreaking study set to redefine our understanding of interoception, researchers led by Banellis, Nikolova, and Ehmsen have revealed that interoceptive abilities vary independently across different bodily systems. Their large-scale psychophysical investigation firmly establishes that the capacity to perceive internal signals from the heart does not correlate with the ability to sense respiratory signals. This finding, soon to be published in Commun Psychol, challenges prevailing assumptions about the unified nature of interoception and opens new pathways for neuroscience and psychology.
Interoception, the mysterious sense by which the brain interprets signals from within the body, plays a crucial role in emotional experience, decision-making, and homeostatic regulation. Traditionally, interoceptive ability was treated as a singular, domain-general skill. People who are better at detecting their heartbeat were assumed to excel equally in perceiving breathing patterns or gastrointestinal sensations. The innovative research conducted by Banellis and colleagues decisively disputes this homogeneity, demonstrating that interoceptive skills are domain-specific and possibly independently modulated.
This research employed an unprecedentedly large participant pool, ensuring a robustness unattainable in earlier studies. Psychophysical tasks specifically designed to quantify interoceptive accuracy allowed for precise measurement of participants’ cardiac and respiratory signal detection abilities. Extensive statistical analyses then evaluated the relationships between these domains. The striking absence of correlation stands as a testament to the complex architecture underpinning bodily self-awareness, suggesting segregated channels of information processing rather than a monolithic interoceptive faculty.
The implications of these findings reverberate across multiple scientific disciplines. From clinical psychology to neurology, understanding the independence of interoceptive submodalities may refine diagnostic criteria and therapeutic approaches for conditions linked to aberrant internal sensing. Disorders such as anxiety, depression, and alexithymia often involve distortions in perceiving bodily states. Recognizing that cardiac and respiratory interoceptions operate independently provides a nuanced framework for tailoring interventions targeting specific sensory axes.
From a neurobiological perspective, the decoupling of cardiac and respiratory interoceptive skills challenges current models hypothesizing shared neural substrates for interoceptive processing. The insular cortex, often posited as a hub for integrating internal bodily signals, may process different system inputs via distinct circuits or mechanisms. This specialization might reflect evolutionary advantages in separately tuning awareness to varying physiological states critical for survival, from detecting cardiac arrhythmias to monitoring respiratory sufficiency.
Technologically, the study highlights the importance of designing multifaceted interoceptive assessments in psychophysical experiments. Simple heartbeat detection tasks no longer suffice to capture the full spectrum of interoceptive ability. Instead, multi-domain batteries incorporating respiratory, cardiac, and perhaps gastrointestinal assessments will be necessary to map an individual’s comprehensive interoceptive profile. This granular approach promises to deepen insights into the intricate dialogue between the brain and body.
Banellis and colleagues’ methodology merits attention for its meticulous control of confounding variables and innovative measurement techniques. Utilizing real-time biofeedback and novel algorithms to parse signal detection accuracy, they ensured that subjective reports were robustly anchored to objective physiological markers. This methodological rigor elevates the study beyond prior exploratory analyses, providing a substantive foundation for subsequent research.
Critically, the study also invites re-examination of existing theories linking interoception to emotional processing and psychiatric conditions. If interoceptive faculties are modular and uncorrelated, then emotional states and disorders previously attributed to generalized interoceptive dysfunction may involve impairments localized to specific physiological domains. This invites a more differentiated view of “interoceptive dysfunction” in clinical research.
This revelation reshapes how cognitive scientists, clinicians, and neuroscientists conceptualize the bodily self and its representation within the central nervous system. The dissociation across respiratory and cardiac axes suggests that subjective bodily awareness is more fragmented and complex than previously appreciated. Future theoretical models must accommodate this multifunctional and domain-specific architecture to accurately reflect the underlying physiology.
Furthermore, the absence of correlation between respiratory and cardiac interoception signals an evolutionary perspective on internal body monitoring. Diverse survival pressures could have favored specialized pathways for monitoring different internal systems, as the demands to detect subtle heart rate changes differ markedly from the respiratory cues necessary for managing oxygen supply. This functional independence may reflect evolutionary adaptations ensuring redundancy and specificity.
The study also provokes intriguing questions about interoceptive training and plasticity. If interoceptive abilities are independent across physiological systems, could targeted training enhance perception in one domain without impacting the others? Preliminary evidence from neurofeedback and breathing-based meditation practices suggests such domain specificity. This could revolutionize personalized interventions aimed at enhancing self-awareness, emotion regulation, and physiological health through tailored internal sensing exercises.
Banellis and team’s findings underscore the pressing need for interdisciplinary collaboration in interoception research. Bridging psychophysics, neuroscience, clinical practice, and computational modeling will maximize understanding of these domain-specific processes. Harnessing advances in neuroimaging alongside precise psychophysical measurements promises to decode the neural basis of these dissociations, providing a roadmap for future inquiry.
In summary, this pioneering research fundamentally alters the landscape of interoception science. By disentangling the presumed unity of internal sensory modalities and demonstrating the independence of respiratory and cardiac interoceptive abilities, Banellis, Nikolova, Ehmsen, and colleagues offer crucial insights. Their large-scale, methodologically rigorous study charts new territory in understanding how the brain perceives and integrates internal bodily signals, with sweeping implications for neuroscience, psychology, and clinical practice. As interoception continues to gain prominence for its role linking body, mind, and emotion, this work stands as a clarion call to rethink foundational assumptions about internal perception.
Subject of Research: Interoceptive abilities across respiratory and cardiac systems
Article Title: Interoceptive ability is uncorrelated across respiratory and cardiac axes in a large scale psychophysical study
Article References:
Banellis, L., Nikolova, N., Ehmsen, J.F. et al. Interoceptive ability is uncorrelated across respiratory and cardiac axes in a large scale psychophysical study. Commun Psychol (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44271-026-00404-z
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