From heart to mind: Linking interoception, emotion, and theory of mind

Theory of Mind (ToM) is traditionally characterized as the ability to represent mental states. Such a characterization leaves little room for studying individual differences in ToM e individuals either can, or cannot, represent mental states e and this binary classification cannot quantify the subtle

individual differences observed in typical and atypical pop- ulations. In recognition of this problem, attempts have been made to provide a more detailed characterization of the con- stituent psychological processes which support the repre- sentation of mental states (Happe , Cook, & Bird, 2017; Schaafsma, Pfaff, Spunt, & Adolphs, 2015), and the neuro- computational principles underpinning ToM (Koster-Hale & Saxe, 2013), in order to identify the source of individual dif- ferences. A recent model is of interest as it forwards the novel argument that interoception, perception of the internal state of the body, is a fundamental component of ToM (Ondobaka, Kilner, & Friston, 2017). Here we report the first test of the link between interoception and ToM.