Interoceptive technologies for psychiatric interventions: From diagnosis to clinical applications

Interoception—the perception of internal bodily signals—has emerged as an area of interest due to its implications in emotion and the prevalence of dysfunctional interoceptive processes across psychopathological conditions. Despite the importance of interoception in cognitive neuroscience and psychiatry , its experimental manipulation remains technically challenging. This is due to the invasive nature of existing methods, the limitation of self-report and unimodal measures of interoception, and the absence of standardized approaches across disparate fields. This article integrates diverse research efforts from psychology, physiology, psychiatry, and engineering to address this oversight. Following a general introduction to the neurophysiology of interoception as hierarchical predictive processing , we review the existing paradigms for manipulating interoception (e.g., interoceptive modulation), their underlying mechanisms (e.g., interoceptive conditioning), and clinical applications (e.g., interoceptive exposure). We suggest a classification for interoceptive technologies and discuss their potential for diagnosing and treating mental health disorders . Despite promising results, considerable work is still needed to develop standardized, validated measures of interoceptive function across domains and before these technologies can translate safely and effectively to clinical settings. • The article provides a comprehensive overview of interoception research and technology, integrating perspectives from psychology, physiology, psychiatry, and engineering while highlighting the need for standardized approaches. • We review the neurophysiology of interoception as hierarchical predictive processing and its role in mood and emotion. This includes cardioception, respiroception, thermoception, and gastroception. • We review experimental paradigms for manipulating interoceptive channels, including methods such as interoceptive modulation, illusions, conditioning, and exposure. • We introduce a novel classification system for interoceptive methods across fields. • While underscoring the promising potential of interoceptive technologies for mental health , we stress the need for further research to ensure safe and effective clinical translation of these emerging tools.