THE SCIENCE OF INTEROCEPTION AND ITS ROLES IN NERVOUS SYSTEM DISORDERS

NIH Blueprint Workshop

April 16-17, 2019
Lister Hill Auditorium, NLM (Building 38A)
Bethesda, MD

Workshop Objectives: The objectives of this workshop are to identify gaps in research related to the science of interoception and its role(s) in nervous system disorders, and to develop strategies and recommendations to facilitate the advancement of this area of research. This workshop will bring together expertise from diverse fields including basic neuroscience, psychology, physiology, and clinical research to deliberate two important dynamic connections – the connections between the brain and body and the connections between basic research and human/clinical research. The primary focus areas for the workshop include: the neural circuitry underlying the dynamic interactions between the central and peripheral nervous systems; interoceptive processes in associated diseases and disorders; effect of modulating interoceptive processes for potential interventions/therapies; and development of technologies and methodologies to enhance interoceptive research.

Live Video Links

April 16, 2019

April 17, 2019

April 16, 2019

8:30 AM Welcome Remarks and Introduction
Helene Langevin, Director of NCCIH
8:40 AM Workshop Keynote:
Ardem Patapoutian, Scripps Research
How Do You Feel? Role of Sensing Mechanical Force in Interoception
9:10 AM Session 1: Neural Circuits Underlying Communication Between the Brain and the Body
Session Chairs: Janine Simmons (NIMH); Peter Strick (University of Pittsburgh)
Rapporteur: Gary Berntson (Ohio State University)

Speakers:
Diego V. Bohorquez, Duke University
A Gut Choice
Zachary A. Knight, University of California, San Francisco
The Neurobiology of thirst
Peter Strick, University of Pittsburgh
One example of the mind-body problem: circuits that ink the cerebral cortex to the adrenal medulla
Richard D. Lane, University of Arizona
Limbic predictions gone awry: The role of maladaptive emotional avoidance in interoceptive insensitivity, persistent somatic symptoms and dyshomeostasis
11:30 PM Lunch
12:30 PM Session 2: Dynamic and Functions of the Central and Peripheral Nervous Systems in Interoception
Session Chairs: Lis Nielsen (NIA), Coryse St. Hillaire-Clarke (NIA), Lisa Barrett (Northeastern University)
Rapporteur: Karen Quigley (Northeastern University)

Speakers:
Eliza Bliss-Moreau, University of California, Davis
Animal models of interoceptive neurobiology
Manos Tsakiris, University of London
Looking for the Self Outwith and Within the Body
Kyle Simmons, Johnson and Johnson
The Insula: At the Nexus of Interoception and Allostasis
Scott Kanoski, University of Southern California
The hippocampus: an interface between energy status signaling and memory function
2:30 PM Break
2:45 PM Session 3: Modeling Disease, Alterations in Interoceptive Processes, and Comorbidities
Session Chairs: Changhai Cui (NIAAA); Rajita Sinha (Yale University)
Rapporteur: Bruno Bonaz (University of Grenoble, France)

Speakers:
Paul J. Kenny, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Habenular Tcf7l2 links nicotine addiction to diabetes
Rita J. Valentino, NIDA
Visceral reactions
Martin P. Paulus, Laureate Institute for Brain Research
An active inference approach to interoceptive psychopathology
Emeran A. Mayer, University of California, Los Angeles
Brain mechanisms underlying chronic overlapping pain conditions and comorbidities
4:45 PM Wrap up
5:00 PM Adjourn

April 17, 2019

8:45 AM Workshop Keynote:
Hugo Critchley, Brighton and Sussex Medical School
Disorders of interoception
9:15 AM Session 4: Leveraging and Manipulating Interoception for Disease Intervention
Session Chairs: Victoria Spruance & Bonner, Joe (NIH/NICHD) ; Cynthia Price (University of Washington)
Rapporteur: Helen Weng (University of California, San Francisco)

Speakers:
Lorenzo Leggio, NIAAA-NIDA
The gut in the brain: potential novel targets for the treatment of addictions
Jack L. Feldman, University of California, Los Angeles
Intero(re)ceptors affect breathing which affects everything else!
Jeanie Park, Emory University
Leveraging interoception to improve sympathetic function in chronic disease states
Vitaly Napadow, Harvard University/Massachusetts General Hospital
Therapeutic engagement of interoceptive pathways with respiratory-gated vagus nerve stimulation
Cynthia Price, University of Washington
Learning interoceptive awareness skills is linked to increased emotion regulation capacity and improved health outcomes
11:30 PM Lunch
12:30 AM Session 5: Technologies, Methodologies, and Biomarkers for Interoception Research
Session Chairs: Jim Gnadt (NINDS); Christof Koch (Allen Brain Institute)
Rapporteur: Frederike Petzschner (University of Zürich, Switzerland)

Speakers:
Lisa Stowers, Scripps Research
Sensing and controlling urination from the brain
Rob W. Gereau, Washington University
Beyond the BRAIN: emerging technologies for measuring and manipulating cellular activity in the periphery
Warren Grill, Duke University
Interoceptive feedback from the urethra is essential to efficient voiding
Sarah Garfinkel, University of Sussex
Dissociating dimensions of interoception
2:30 PM Break
2:45 PM Session 6: Discussions - Future Directions & Recommendations
Session Chairs: Wen Chen (NCCIH), Dana Schloesser (OBSSR), and Angela Arensdorf (NCCIH)
Speaker:
Sahib Khalsa, Laureate Institute for Brain Research
Charting A Path Forward for Interoceptive Neuroscience
Panelists: Gary Berntson, Karen Quigley, Bruno Bonaz, Helen Weng, Frederike Petzschner
4:45 PM Wrap-up & Adjourn