Making sense of the brain through functional neural circuits of interoception

Humans interact with the world through a number of senses, such as vision ??, hearing ??, smell ??, and taste ??. Did you know the nervous system can also sense and regulate the environment inside the brain ??? This is called interoception.?

In 2019, the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research held the workshop, “The Science of Interoception and Its Roles in the Nervous System.” This workshop addressed some of the key issues in interoception research, including the definition of interoception, the scope of interoception science, interoceptive signaling via specialized interoceptors, specialized ascending and descending neuroanatomical pathways, normative functions and disease implications, and potential interventions, as well as the integration of internal and external representations of the world from an experimental and computational modeling perspective.

To help to address these issues, in 2020, NIH Blueprint established an initiative to increase fundamental understanding of interoception with a specific focus on dissecting and determining the function of neural circuits that connects peripheral organs/tissues with the central nervous system (CNS) via peripheral ganglia.?The goal of this initiative was to use innovative approaches to delineate interoceptive mechanisms to lay the foundation for future translational and clinical research on interoception and its roles in nervous system disorders.?

Through the funding opportunity, RFA-AT-21-003 NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research: Functional Neural Circuits of Interoception (R01, Clinical Trial Not Allowed), seven projects at six institutions are being funded for a total of ~$18M. To date, over 35 publications have resulted from this exciting initiative, including a special issue on interoception published in “Trends in Neuroscience” in 2020! Moreover, the initiative has supported two annual meetings in 2022 and 2023, which highlighted the latest research in interoception, fostered community engagement, and provided platforms for emerging scientists.?

For more information on other research areas supported by the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research, please visit the NIH Blueprint Research Initiatives webpage: Blueprint Research Initiatives | Blueprint #NIHBlueprint20?