26 April at 3 pm. in the CN hall, Dr Aleksandra Herman from the Laboratory of Brain Imaging of the Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology PAS will give a lecture entitled “The role of body-brain interactions in actions and decisions: How bodily feelings drive our behaviour”. Her habilitation is processed by the Scientific Council of the Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology PAS.

Abstract:

Interoception, the sense of the body's internal state, is increasingly recognised for its role in health and well-being. In this talk, I will focus on how signals from the body can impact decision-making, drawing on interdisciplinary methods from neuroimaging, psychophysiology, and behavioural economics.

Specifically, I will present three studies investigating (i) how different body-related signals are processed and converged by the brain, (ii) the role of sensitivity to bodily cues in guiding decisions under uncertainty, and (iii) recent findings on how disrupted body-brain communication can affect actions and decisions.

By investigating these interactions between the body and brain, the research reveals that our body signals partly influence our decisions and actions, but how well we can perceive and interpret these signals is also crucial.

Furthermore, these findings imply that novel body-focused interventions may be promising tools for treating conditions such as chronic pain.

Best regards,
Grażyna Mosieniak