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Neural divergence and convergence for attention to and detection of interoceptive and somatosensory stimuli

Herman, Aleksandra M., Palmer, Clare E., Azevedo, Ruben T., Tsakiris, Manos (2020) Neural divergence and convergence for attention to and detection of interoceptive and somatosensory stimuli. Cortex, 135 . pp. 186-206. ISSN 0010-9452. (doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2020.11.019) (KAR id:93647)

Abstract

Body awareness is constructed by signals originating from within and outside the body. How do these apparently divergent signals converge? We developed a signal detection task to study the neural convergence and divergence of interoceptive and somatosensory signals. Participants focused on either cardiac or tactile events and reported their presence or absence. Beyond some evidence of divergence, we observed a robust overlap in the pattern of activation evoked across both conditions in frontal areas including the insular cortex, as well as parietal and occipital areas, and for both attention and detection of these signals. Psycho-physiological interaction analysis revealed that right insular cortex connectivity was modulated by the conscious detection of cardiac compared to somatosensory sensations, with greater connectivity to occipito-parietal regions when attending to cardiac signals. Our findings speak in favour of the inherent convergence of bodily-related signals and move beyond the apparent antagonism between exteroception and interoception.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.11.019
Uncontrolled keywords: Interoception; Exteroception; Somatosensation; MRI; Psychophysiological interactions; Attention; Signal detection
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Psychology
Depositing User: Ruben Andre Teixeira Azevedo
Date Deposited: 17 Mar 2022 15:12 UTC
Last Modified: 18 Mar 2022 11:15 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/93647 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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