The neurobiology of interoception and affect

Scholars have argued for centuries that affective states involve interoception, or representations of the state of the body. Yet, we lack a mechanistic understanding of how signals from the body are transduced, transmitted, compressed, and inte- grated by the brains of humans to produce affective states. We suggest that to understand how the body contributes to affect, we first need to understand informa- tion flow through the nervous system's interoceptive pathways. We outline such a model and discuss how unique anatomical and physiological aspects of interocep- tive pathways may give rise to the qualities of affective experiences in general and valence and arousal in particular. We conclude by considering implications and future directions for research on interoception, affect, emotions, and human mental experiences.