The Neuroscience of Interoceptive Learning

How does the brain learn the nutritional value or potential harm of food when its consequences are only sensed after ingestion? How does the brain construct our sense of internal states, such as hunger and thirst? And how are internal bodily signals integrated with external sensory cues to shape learning, memory, and decision-making?

The Gong Lab investigates the neural mechanisms of interoception and its learning / memory—how the brain senses, learns from, and predicts the body's internal states. Using feeding behavior and appetite regulation in mice as primary models, we combine cutting-edge systems neuroscience approaches to uncover how neural population dynamics, circuit organization, and plasticity support learning from bodily signals. Our ultimate goal is to understand how the brain transforms internal physiological signals into lasting memories and predictions that guide adaptive behavior and coordinate brain–body interactions.