Concept: Advancing and Coordinating Interoception Research Across the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Project Concept Review

Council Date: September 13, 2024

Program Director: Wen G. Chen, M.M.Sc., Ph.D.       

Background

Interoception refers to the process by which the nervous system senses, integrates, and interprets information about the inner states of the body, and in return regulates those states. It has been a concept studied for more than 150 years. Since 2019, the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research has revitalized this field, marking a new era of scientific inquiry and discovery. The initial phase of the Blueprint interoception program saw notable achievements, including:

• Foundation and Expansion of Interoception Research: The inaugural NIH workshop in April 2019 laid the groundwork for focused interoception research. This led to the 2020 Blueprint request for applications (RFA), dedicating over $18 million to fund seven R01 grants aimed at mapping neural circuits in mammalian models.
• Publication and Scientific Contributions: A special issue on interoception published in "Trends in Neuroscience" at the end of 2020, originating from the inaugural workshop, highlights the program’s contribution to scientific knowledge in this area.
• Expanded Interest and Collaboration: The program’s scope extended beyond Blueprint, attracting interest from non-Blueprint Institutes, Centers, and Offices (ICOs), such as the National Cancer Institute (NCI); National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI); National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK); and Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH). 
• Funding and Support Expansion: The interest in interoception has been incorporated into several ICO-specific funding opportunities by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and NCI. Since 2019, the NIH Common Fund increased interoception research funding support through its Pioneer Awards and New Innovator Awards. Additionally, the Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies^® (BRAIN) Initiative and the Helping to End Addiction Long-term^® Initiative, or HEAL Initiative^®, funded programs relevant to interoception research. The Trans-NIH Interoception Research working group also published a notice of special interest to support broad interoception research at 10 different NIH ICOs (NCCIH, National Institute on Aging [NIA], National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research [NIDCR], NIDA, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences [NIEHS], National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], NCI, NHLBI, Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research [OBSSR], and ORWH). 
• Annual NIH Investigator Meetings: The program has successfully organized two annual NIH investigator meetings since 2022, attracting substantial participation and highlighting the latest research in interoception. These meetings have been instrumental in fostering community engagement and providing platforms for emerging scientists.

Despite these achievements, participating scientists during the two recent investigator meetings highlighted several key barriers to the advancement of interoception research:

• Community Building: A major obstacle identified is the absence of an investigator-initiated research community that integrates the wide array of biomedical disciplines involved in interoception research. The Blueprint workshop and investigator meetings have been pivotal in convening this emerging field, but there is a pressing need for a more permanent, structured platform for ongoing scientific exchange and collaboration.
• Coordination of Interoception Research Across NIH ICOs: Engaging and leveraging the strong interest in interoception research across various NIH ICOs, including non-Blueprint ICOs such as NCI, NHLBI, and NIDDK, poses an administrative challenge. Coordinating these efforts is vital for a more integrated approach to interoception research within NIH.
• Dedicated Study Section Panel To Review Multidisciplinary Research on Interoception by promoting technological innovation, translational research between basic and clinical studies, and theoretical and computational model development. 

Purpose of Proposed Initiative

This concept is proposed to address these key barriers through two major endeavors: 1) Establish an NIH Blueprint Coordination Center for Interoception Research (NBCCIR), aiming to foster a multidisciplinary approach to interoception research by building a multidisciplinary research community across the brain and the body. The Center will establish a governing body of experts, facilitate community building and collaborations, develop digital platforms to enhance communication and collaboration, and publish white papers on taxonomies, research standards, common data elements, emerging technological gaps, and opportunities. 2) Develop a suite of initiatives with special review to support multidisciplinary research on interoception with strong emphasis on technological innovation, bidirectional translational research between basic and clinical studies, and theoretical and computational model development. 

Objectives

The objectives of this initiative include but are not limited to:

• Governing Body: Establish and maintain a multidisciplinary team of interoception researchers to oversee and guide NBCCIR activities.
• Researcher Network and Digital Platforms: Create and maintain a network to connect interoception researchers and develop digital communication platforms (e.g., website, slack channel, etc.).
• Annual Meeting: Plan, organize, and host an annual meeting for NIH-funded interoception researchers, trainees, and beyond.
• Dissemination and Training: Share information about the annual meeting, training, funding opportunities, and field accomplishments.
• Consensus Papers and White Papers: Identify challenges and opportunities and develop documents regarding common terminology, data standards, common data elements, and emerging technologies and methodologies to acquire innovative data, especially those related to translational research between animal models and human subjects.
• Sustainability and Success Metrics: Develop a plan to ensure the community’s sustainability beyond initial funding and create objective criteria to measure the impact and success of the NBCCIR.