Predictive brain, emotion and interoceptive inference

I recently get interested in Predictive Coding models of the brain in the framework of emotional processing and psychopathological conditions. I am interested in developing models that include multiple, hierarchically arranged brain-body variables (e.g., sensory, physiological, interoceptive), and study quantitatively how these variables interact over time; how they are dynamically weighted; if a specific variable or dynamical state of the system might work as a "marker" of psychopathological conditions (eg., anxiety disorders) that could be possibly used for screening and prevention; and if ways of restoring the correct system dynamics can be found to be used as treatments.

Publications on this topic:

  • Barca, L., Candidi, M., Lancia, GL. Maglianella, V., Pezzulo, G.. (in press). Mapping the mental space of emotional concepts through kinematic measures of decision uncertainty. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2015.0615

  • Tschantz, A., Barca, L., Maisto, D., Buckley, C.L., Seth, A.K., Pezzulo, G. (2022). Simulating homeostatic, allostatic and goal-directed forms of interoceptive control using Active Inference. Biological Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2022.108266

  • Maisto, D., Barca, L., Van den Bergh, O., Pezzulo, G. (2021). Perception and misperception of bodily symptoms from an Active Inference perspective: Modelling the case of panic disorder. Psychological Review,128(4), 690–710. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000290

  • Yu, A.A.N., Iodice, P., Pezzulo, G., Barca, L. (2021). Bodily Information and Top-Down Affective Priming Jointly Affect the Processing of Fearful Faces. Frontiers in Psychology, 12:625986.doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.625986

  • Barca, L., Pezzulo, G. (2020). Interoceptive inference in Anorexia Nervosa. Cognitive, Affective and Behavioral Neuroscience, 20, 427-440.

  • Pezzulo G., Barca L., Maisto D., Donnarumma F. (2020). Social epistemic actions. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 43, e113

  • Pezzulo, G., Maisto, D., Barca, L., Van den Bergh, O. (2019). Symptom perception from a predictive coding perspective. Clinical Psychology in Europe , 1 (4), 1-14

  • Pezzulo, G., Maisto, D., Barca, L., & Van den Bergh, O. (2019, December 2). Perception and misperception of bodily symptoms from an Active Inference perspective: Modelling the case of panic disorder. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/dywfs

  • Iodice, P., Porciello, G., Barca, L., Bufalari, I., Pezzulo, G. (2019). An interoceptive illusion of effort. PNAS, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1821032116

  • Pezzulo, G., Barca,L., Chausse, P., Monceau, S., Mermillod, M. (2018). The embodiment of fear: Emotional congruent body-state facilitates expressive face recognition. Scientifc Reports, 8, DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-18761-5

  • Iodice, P., Calluso, C., Barca, L., Bertollo, M., Ripari, P., Pezzulo, G. (2017). Fatigue increases the perception of future effort during decision making. Psychology of Sport & Exercise, 33, 140-150

  • Pezzulo, G., Barca, L., Friston, K. (2014). Active inference and cognitive-emotional interactions in the brain. Behavioral and Brain Sciences Commentary Invitation