|
At every moment, your body’s internal organs are sending signals to your brain. You’ll be mostly unaware of them, but sometimes they cut through: for example when you’re hungry, or when you need to go to the bathroom. Our ability to tap into these hidden signals is called interoception – sometimes known as a sixth sense.
In this episode of The Conversation Weekly, we speak to a cognitive neuroscientist and expert on interoception about how new research on this connection between our minds and bodies could lead to breakthroughs in mental and physical healthcare.
And as US and UK forces strike Houthi targets in Yemen, we consider the background to the crisis. Keep an eye on our global home page for more on this and other international issues in the days ahead.
|
How good are you at listening to the signals of your own body?
Your Hand Please via Shutterstock
Gemma Ware, The Conversation
Neuroscientis Sarah Garfinkel on why interoception can help explain the intergration between the body and the brain – and our emotions. Listen to The Conversation Weekly podcast.
|
Show of strength: an image released by the UK ministry of defence, of the Royal Navy responding to the Houthi attack.
Owen Cooban/Ministry of Defence
Basil Germond, Lancaster University
The Iran-backed Houthi rebels have the power to significantly destabilise global trade by endangering maritime activity in the Red Sea.
|
Pope Francis baptizes 16 infants in the Sistine Chapel on Jan. 7, 2024, in Vatican City.
Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images
Danielle Tumminio Hansen, Emory University
Surrogacy can exploit women, but others may choose to be involved for altruistic reasons. A scholar points out that surrogacy’s ethical value is dependent upon the people and systems who use it.
|
|
|
-
Albert Van Dijk, Australian National University
The impacts of record heat on the global water cycle were severe and wide-ranging – and the trend will continue in 2024.
-
Joseph Madaus, University of Connecticut; Nicholas Gelbar, University of Connecticut; Sally Reis, University of Connecticut
Self-advocacy and taking initiative have proven critical for autistic students who are also gifted, new research shows.
-
Bizuneh Yimenu, University of Birmingham; Robert McCabe, Coventry University
International law provides pathways for landlocked countries to access the sea but this depends almost entirely on striking deals with neighbours.
-
Onur Çelik, University of Glasgow
Proposed reflectors would help provide clean energy when demand peaks near dawn and dusk.
-
James Dawes, Macalester College
Whether they’re heroic or inscrutably weird, video game records reveal a lot about play, cooperation and the drive for perfection.
-
David Shiffman, Arizona State University
A new initiative is pinpointing areas in the world’s oceans that are key habitats for sharks and their relatives, so that governments can consider protecting these areas.
-
Hunter Fujak, Deakin University
The tournament has proven to be very resilient throughout its history, but its greatest challenges may lie ahead.
|
|
