Testing a learning-based account of interoceptive hunger using an illusory induction.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Physiology

Background:

• Interoceptive cues, such as stomach rumbling, are often assumed to directly cause motivational states like hunger.
• An alternative hypothesis suggests that the learned meaning of these cues, rather than the cues themselves, drives motivational consequences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether a psychologically induced illusory interoceptive hunger cue can stimulate hunger and subsequent food intake.
• To test a learning-based model of interoception where cue meaning drives behavior.

Main Methods:

• 130 participants were exposed to either a stomach rumbling sound or a control sound while evaluating non-food images.
• Participants reported the perceived location of the sound to detect the occurrence of an illusory interoceptive cue.
• Food was freely available throughout the experiment.

Main Results:

• Participants who heard stomach rumbling and misattributed it to their own body reported increased hunger and consumed approximately 50% more food compared to control groups.
• No differences in the time since last eating were observed between groups.
• Higher susceptibility to the illusion was found in individuals who already used stomach rumbling as an interoceptive hunger cue.

Conclusions:

• Interoceptive cues can influence motivationally salient behavior through learned meaning, supporting a psychological pathway.
• Findings align with learning-based models of hunger and predictive coding accounts of interoception, emphasizing the role of experience.