Seth_Friston_PTRSB2016_R1_FINAL.pdf (1.8 MB)
Active interoceptive inference and the emotional brain
We review a recent shift in conceptions of interoception and its relationship to hierarchical inference in the brain. The notion of interoceptive inference means that bodily states are regulated by autonomic reflexes that are enslaved by descending predictions from deep generative models of our internal and external milieu. This re-conceptualization illuminates several issues in cognitive and clinical neuroscience with implications for experiences of selfhood and emotion. We first contextualize interoception in terms of active (Bayesian) inference in the brain, highlighting its enactivist (embodied) aspects. We then consider the key role of uncertainty or precision and how this might translate into neuromodulation. We next examine the implications for understanding the functional anatomy of the emotional brain, surveying recent observations on agranular cortex. Finally, we turn to theoretical issues, namely, the role of interoception in shaping a sense of embodied self and feelings. We will draw links between physiological homoeostasis and allostasis, early cybernetic ideas of predictive control and hierarchical generative models in predictive processing. The explanatory scope of interoceptive inference ranges from explanations for autism and depression, through to consciousness. We offer a brief survey of these exciting developments.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Journal
Philosophical Transactions B: Biological SciencesISSN
0962-8436Publisher
Royal Society, TheExternal DOI
Issue
1708Volume
371Page range
20160007Department affiliated with
- Informatics Publications
Research groups affiliated with
- Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2016-10-03First Open Access (FOA) Date
2016-10-03First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2016-10-03Usage metrics
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