Ep 185: Interoception: The Brain-Body Issue I See in My Practice Every Day
Dr. Laura Hanson
Have you ever noticed a child who never feels hungry, won’t drink water, or struggles with bathroom accidents? It might have less to do with behavior — and everything to do with the brain.
In this episode, I’m breaking down interoception — your brain’s ability to receive and respond to the signals your body sends. From hunger and thirst to knowing when to use the bathroom, these signals matter more than most people realize.
I also explain why treating these issues from the “neck down” isn’t enough, and how an area of the brain called the anterior cingulate gyrus plays a bigger role than you might expect.
Stay tuned — I’m doing a full deep-dive episode on this topic very soon!
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Full Transcript
Introduction and clinic update 0:00
Hi everybody, it's Dr. Laura with Connecting the Dots, Truth Bonds. Thanks for tuning in. Hey, we're at our new location, 3535 Roswell Road, Suite 35, all the three fives. Marietta, Georgia 30062. Phone number still the same 678-501-5172. Feel free to reach out. Today in this episode, I want to talk to you about what is interoception.
What interoception means 0:28
And it's about how you and your brain, body and brain listen to what it is that you need to do and to be able to it. Now, let me break this down. This is not just the action steps of going from point A to point B. It's the physiology of the body. Do you pay attention to thirst? Do You pay Attention to hunger? do you Pay attention To going to the bathroom? We have a lot of kids in the office that do have trouble with some of these these bodily functions like They don't eat a Lot They don't drink any water.
They have trouble going to the bathroom. It could be lots of accidents, not feeling comfortable, relieving themselves. And it can also be what an adult may go through as well. Now, in this idea, We sometimes only think of a deficit or something that you're not doing, but you can also be doing it too much.
Body signals and physiological balance 1:35
So keep that idea of physiology kind of on the like that picture in your mind of legal scales. There's meant to be balance. We shouldn't be. Doing things too little. But being able to pay attention to bodily need is so important. Now, with this concept, the podcast that's going to come out in the same month timeframe, this is March 4th, 2026, so maybe within a week or two. I'm gonna do a really deep dive into this concept because I think a lot of times our healthcare system is only doing things from the neck down.
Brain-body connection and the limbic system 2:36
So if it's a problem with going to the bathroom, then we're really just looking at the elimination system. If it is a problems with eating, We've even got some patients here that are on medication to stimulate an appetite. So what we have to do is realize we can take something from the outside and put it in. we can look at something from the neck down. But we've got to bridge this concept of the brain to the body. And that's what I'm gonna do a really deep dive because this area of interoception has to do with the limbic system of brain, in particularly an area called the anterior cingulate gyrus.
is between both sides of the brain. And one of concepts that I find myself constantly trying to connect the dots for parents and adults is that it's never just this one area. Because if I break it down just for the truth bomb, If we're talking about an area that exists connecting both sides of the brain, and both side of brain while they communicate to each other have unique features to them, we are talking connecting the both of sides.
Development, timing, and closing thoughts 4:15
And that has to do with timing. And then when we're talking about pediatrics or children, it's about the windows of development that they're actually in. If we are talking an adult, its about a journey that went through to wire up that part of their brain. And how is the brain communicating to the body? So when you start to look at a concept, I want you to first ask yourself what is involved and realize that there's a connection that goes from the body to the brain, the Brain to The Body. And all of those pieces have to be in that right harmony in order for function to exist.
Okay, thanks for tuning in. That's that five minutes. Make sure you go and listen to the upcoming podcast where we're going to do a deeper dive into the concept of interoception. Be blessed.
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