The thermoception task: a thermal imaging-based procedure for measuring awareness of changes in peripheral body temperature

From feeling chilly to burning up: How thermal signals shape the physiological state of the body and impact physical, emotional, and social well-being

This review examines the role of thermal interoception-awareness of body temperature-in shaping physiological states and its impact on physical, emotional, and social well-being. We describe the neural pathways and mechanisms involved in thermal processing and environmental heat exchange and how thermal interoception influences both autonomic and behavioral responses, contributing to survival and homeostasis. Additionally, the review highlights the significance of thermal signals and thermoregulation in determining higher-order cognitive and emotional functions, such as regulating sleep patterns and activity levels, monitoring physical well-being, regulating emotions, and even social interactions. We describe the existing instruments for assessing body temperature and thermal awareness and call for further research to investigate the role of thermal interoception in emotional and social domains. We also discuss potential therapeutic applications, particularly in the context of psychosomatic and neurological disorders characterized by emotional dysregulation, disrupted sleep and mood patterns, social difficulties, and alterations in self-consciousness.

A computationally informed distinction of interoception and exteroception

While interoception is of major neuroscientific interest, its precise definition and delineation from exteroception continue to be debated. Here, we propose a functional distinction between interoception and exteroception based on computational concepts of sensor-effector loops. Under this view, the classification of sensory inputs as serving interoception or exteroception depends on the sensor-effector loop they feed into, for the control of either bodily (physiological and biochemical) or environmental states. We explain the utility of this perspective by examining the perception of skin temperature, one of the most challenging cases for distinguishing between interoception and exteroception. Specifically, we propose conceptualising thermoception as inference about the thermal state of the body (including the skin), which is directly coupled to thermoregulatory processes. This functional view emphasises the coupling to regulation (control) as a defining property of perception (inference) and connects the definition of interoception to contemporary computational theories of brain-body interactions.