Abstract

Interoception -- the sense of the body- includes the perception of visceral signals and its integration with many other information in the central nervous system. Hypnotizability levels are associated with interoceptive accuracy and sensitivity, likely due to different insula grey matter volume, and different availability of vascular nitric oxide during sensory and cognitive tasks in peripheral arteries and in the brain. This theoretical review deals with the relevance of possible hypnotizability-related nitric oxide availability at various levels of the central nervous system to interoception and, consequently, to physiological and pathological conditions, such as emotion, sleep disturbance, eating behavior, cardiovascular illness. Moreover, the review suggests that hypnotic assessment could be a predictor of the efficacy of therapies based on improvement of interoception.