May 28, 2024
National Research and Development Agency
National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry
Keio University
A research group led by Dr. Atsushi Sekiguchi, Head of the Department of Behavioral Medicine at the National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry (NCNP), and Associate Professor Yuri Terasawa of the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Letters, Keio University, has revealed that interoceptive training induces changes in the brain circuits of the anterior insular cortex (AIC). This discovery helps to elucidate the mechanism by which interoceptive training improves anxiety and physical symptoms, and it suggests new possibilities for developing treatments for the physical symptoms of stress-related disorders, including psychosomatic disorders. The findings of this study were published in the British online psychiatric journal *Translational Psychiatry* on May 23, 2024, Japan Standard Time.
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