Interoception: The Sixth Sense Behind the Brain-Body Connection

By Gillian Dohrn

Often described as the ‘sixth sense,’ interoception conveys a different kind of information to the brain than the traditional five senses. While sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch all sense and convey external information, interoception senses and conveys internal information, as the name suggests. Scientists are just beginning to discover how critical interoception is to monitoring and modulating essential bodily functions, including organ function, immunity and even our emotions and behavior. Unlike the other senses, it has not been researched extensively and remains somewhat of a mystery.

To explore this exciting, and rapidly expanding new field,  Keystone Symposia will convene a meeting on Interoception: Neural Sensing and Control of Organ Function, on April 22-24, 2025, at the Allen Institute in Seattle, WA. 

Over the course of three days, neuroscientists, immunologists, basic scientists and clinicians from around the world will gather to share groundbreaking research revealing the nature of neural communication between our bodies and brains. They will discuss the role interoception plays in health and disease, from heart and lung function to the gut-brain axis and beyond. 

This inaugural Keystone Symposium on Interoception will address major questions in the field, including:

1. the delineation of full circuits from peripheral tissues to the brain and back;
2. the molecular identity of neurons at specific nodes in these pathways;
3. critical signals between neurons and tissues;
4. alterations in interoceptive processing in the context of disease, including both peripheral and central nervous system abnormalities;
5. therapeutic opportunities using neuromodulation of interoception circuits (e.g. vagus nerve stimulation) to treat chronic diseases.

The meeting will explore the conscious and subconscious networks that coordinate the many ongoing homeostatic processes that keep our bodies healthy, and how these systems can malfunction in the context of disease. The implications of these signaling processes are far-reaching, but until recently, we knew very little about the basic science at its core. At any given moment inside our body, there is a constant neural chatter between our body and brain, with millions of messages whizzing back and forth telling cells to divide, facilitating breath and blood flow and monitoring energy stores. Most of this goes unnoticed, but sometimes we are called to pay attention. Having the urge to use the restroom, or noticing your heart rate spike in response to something shocking or scary are classic examples of interoception in action. 

Meeting Highlights Flyer

Responding to these cues is important to our health and disruptions to this system can create problems. Take airway neuroendocrine cells for example: these specialized lung cells sense foreign objects and toxic chemicals in the lung and trigger responses to expel potential hazards. A recent study in mice showed that these cells trigger coughing if the mouse inhales something it shouldn’t. The work was overseen by 2021 Nobel Prize Winner David Julius, who will give a keynote address on the mechanisms of interoception at the April meeting.

Although in some cases protective, neuroendocrine cells can also contribute to disease. Emerging research by Dr. Xin Sun of the University of California, San Diego, one of the meeting’s co-organizers, shows that people who suffered from respiratory distress caused by COVID-19, asthma and lung disease had more pulmonary neuroendocrine cells than healthy individuals, potentially leading to the over-reactive lung responses in these conditions. These cells make chemical messengers called neuropeptides that help regulate healthy breathing, blood pressure, emotional responses and pain, which if overproduced leads to maladaptive responses.  In a mouse model of a rare childhood lung disease, increased neuropeptide production caused excess fluid production and breathing issues. 

Neuroendocrine cells and neuropeptides are functional players in interoception, and Dr. Julius’ and Dr. Sun’s work show the yin and yang of how they can both support and disrupt critical processes in the body. This conference will offer scientists an opportunity to share research on efforts to trace these lines of communication between peripheral organs and the central nervous system, down to the identity and characteristics of specific neurons and transmitters at key junctures. 

Notably, the host institution – The Allen Institute for Brain Science – is in the process of an unprecedented effort to map the human brain, which includes circuits involved in interoception. President and CEO Rui Costa, is one of the meeting co-organizers, along with Dr. Sun and Dr. Mark Andermann, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.  Dr. Costa will give a talk on descending innervation and control of interoception on the closing day of the meeting.

As with all Keystone Symposia conferences, there will be short talks, poster sessions, and networking opportunities for early career and established scientists in the field to draw insights and inspiration from each other and strike up collaborations that will fuel the future of the field. In addition, the meeting will feature emerging technologies and model systems to educate researchers on tools to advance their work, as well as a panel discussion on opportunities for funding and publishing to provide resources for attendees to succeed in future endeavors. 

Join us in April for what promises to be a groundbreaking conference!

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Important Deadlines:

Scholarship deadline - Jan. 22, 2025

Short talk abstract deadline – Jan. 22, 2025

Early registration deadline– March 4, 2025

Poster abstract deadline – March 31, 2025

Submit your abstract for the opportunity to be chosen to present your work in a short talk alongside Nobel Laureate David Julius!

Meet the Author

Gillian Dohrn