Neurophysiology’s goal is to understand fundamental properties of the excitable membrane of neurons and their contribution to several brain functions ranging from encoding environmental stimuli, transforming incoming information into appropriate actions, integrating external inputs with internal states. All these processes are fundamental for navigating the environment, foraging for food, identifying potential mates for reproduction but also for complex cognitive functions like learning, managing emotions and interacting with other organisms.

Emerging work highlights how interoception, the ability to sense the internal state of the body, can influence the activity of neurons and circuits. New evidence from studies in human subjects suggests that disfunction in different aspects of internal sensing may contribute to neural circuit changes underlying neurodevelopmental disorders and other neuropsychiatric conditions. Understanding how interoception contributes to modulating excitability, synaptic transmission, neuromodulatory and neuroinflammatory states in the brain is essential to push the neuroscience field forward and provide new knowledge about how the interaction of external and internal stimuli shapes complex behaviors.

To gather further insights in the interplay between interoception and neuronal function, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

• The gut-brain axis and its influence on neural circuitry
• Cellular and molecular mechanisms of temperature sensing and homeostatic regulation
• Neurophysiological bases of balance and heart rate monitoring
• Pain processing and its integration with interoceptive signals
• Interoception’s impact on emotional states and cognitive functions
• Neuromodulatory and neuroinflammatory processes mediated by internal body sensing
• Implications of interoceptive dysfunction in neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders
• Methods and technologies for studying interoceptive pathways
• Hunger and satiety and the control of feeding behaviors

In this Research Topic, we aim to bring together new hypotheses, original research work and scholarly reviews of recent findings about brain circuits, neurochemical signals and cellular/molecular mechanisms involved in the neurophysiology of interoception including, but not limited to, gut-brain axis, temperature sensing, body homeostasis, balance, hearth rate sensing, pain, emotional states. This collection will bring together current knowledge about this exciting field of study and possibly provide novel ideas and hypotheses to be tested in future work.

Are you interested in contributing a manuscript to this Research Topic?

The Neurophysiology of Internal Sensing