Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 10, 2026
Measurement of Neurophysiological Signals of Ignoring and Attending Processes in Attention Control
Published on: July 5, 2015
Functional magnetic resonance imaging analysis of attention to one's heartbeat
Joseph Tracy1, Nitin Goyal, Adam Flanders
1Departments of Neurology, Thomas Jefferson University/Jefferson Medical College, 900 Walnut Street, Suite 206, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA. joseph.i.tracy@jefferson.edu
Objectives:
The convergence of a neural system for monitoring external stimuli with mechanisms that process somatic information leads to the hypothesis that the anterior parietal cortex may mediate attention to a specific internal visceral signal.
Methods:
We measured regional brain activity through functional magnetic resonance imaging and directed subjects (6 men and 11 women) to attend to their own heartbeat, and to a heartbeat played on an external tape.
Results:
Statistical parametric brain mapping revealed the importance of right (nondominant) parietal cortex to directing attention internally to one's visceral state and focusing on a specific body signal.
Conclusions:
The parietal activation may be taking advantage of monitoring skills typically utilized for vigilance to the external environment, in addition to working as a higher-level recognition system for signals emerging from the viscera. The finding suggests that the parietal cortex plays a central role in an interoceptive attention system that monitors bodily states.
