The influence of physiological signals on cognition

Dynamic changes in bodily physiology influence perceptual, affective and cognitive processes. Behaviour is shaped by interoception, that is the processing of afferent information concerning internal state. Physiological signals, such as heartbeats, selectively facilitate, compete with, or inhibit, information processing across psychological domains, often providing a proximate mechanism for pervasive effects of emotions. There is increasing recognition of these influences on cognition, and a growing knowledge concerning underlying neural substrates. Recent theoretical models, notably interoceptive predictive coding, apply concepts of the 'Bayesian brain' and active inference to feeling states, agency and embodiment. Here we describe the impact of interoceptive signals on cognitive processes.