How do internal bodily states shape our thoughts, decisions, and sense of self? While embodied cognition frameworks have emphasized the importance of interoception, the neural circuit-level mechanisms linking visceral states to cognitive control remain elusive.

This project addresses this gap by investigating how the anterior insula (AI) integrates interoceptive signals to modulate cognitive control via its interactions with the prefrontal cortex (PFC). 

We combine human ultra-high field laminar functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) at 9.4 Tesla, diffusion-weighted imaging, and machine learning with causal circuit-level tools in rodents—including optogenetics, activity tagging, and fiber photometry—to map the laminar structure, directionality, and functional relevance of AI–PFC pathways under interoceptive demands. 

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Romy Lorenz

Our cross-species study design is explicitly bidirectional: invasive rodent findings generate mechanistic hypotheses about circuit function and directionality that guide human analyses, while human results inform the relevance and generalizability of rodent models. 

This interdisciplinary integration of systems neuroscience, cognitive psychology, human ultra-high field imaging, advanced MR physic developments and clinical relevance — establishes a novel framework for understanding interoceptive-cognitive coupling across species and scales, with implications for anxiety, depression, and somatic symptom disorders.