Seminars and events

Interoception incorporates the afferent signalling, central processing and neural and mental representation of internal bodily signals. Historically, within the fields of physiology, psychology and neuroscience, there has been inconsistency in the way that individual differences in interoception are defined and measured. This talk will detail empirical results which demonstrate dimensions of interoception with and without conscious access, with a particular focus on the heart. In normative samples, these interoceptive dimensions are distinct and dissociable. The integration of afferent signals with brain can augment or attenuate perceptive, cognitive and emotion processing. Selective alterations in interoceptive processing are evident in clinical conditions such as schizophrenia and autism, while specific interoceptive disturbances are associated with transdiagnostic symptom expression such as anxiety and dissociation. Understanding the multifaceted nature of interoception and body-brain interactions can open up new avenues for targeted treatment. [more]

Obesity is intertwined with behaviour. Many eating-related behaviours have been proposed to explain obesity, such as food addiction, disinhibition and emotional eating. However, these behaviours tend to similarities based on both statistics and definitions. I propose that these behaviours can be aggregated into a single broad trait – Uncontrolled Eating. Such an approach enables reviewing and meta‐analysing evidence done on each individual behaviour. I review evidence how the aggregated Uncontrolled Eating has robust associations with body mass index, food intake, personality traits, and brain systems. I also map out Uncontrolled Eating’s behavioural similarity with other addictions and psychiatric conditions. In summary, Uncontrolled Eating summarises important behavioural aspects of obesity. [more]

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Sleep architecture carries important information about brain health. Here we show that active compared to quiet sleep in infants heralds a marked change from long- to short-range functional connectivity across broad-frequency neural activity. This change in cortical connectivity is attenuated following preterm birth and pre-empts visual performance at two years. Biophysical modeling shows that active sleep is defined by reduced energy in a large-scale, uniform mode of spatiotemporal neural activity and increased energy in two non-uniform anteroposterior modes. This distinct energy redistribution leads to the emergence of more complex connectivity patterns in active sleep compared to quiet sleep. Preterm-born infants show an attenuation in this sleep-related reorganization of connectivity that carries novel prognostic information. [more]

Visceral organs have long been believed to act as major regulators of emotional state. However, the specific role of gut-borne signals in motivated behavior remains elusive to this day. The talk will describe the connectivity and behavioral functions of a neural circuit that links gut sensory neurons to brain reward systems. Implications for our current ideas on the role of the gut-brain axis will be discussed. [more]

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