A decade ago, a landmark gathering of interoception researchers produced one of the most cited frameworks in the field — Interoception and Mental Health: A Roadmap — a paper that helped shape a generation of research into how the brain models the body’s internal world.
Since then, the science has accelerated beyond what anyone in that room predicted. Interoception is no longer a niche within neuroscience. It is central to our understanding of consciousness, mental health, emotional regulation, chronic pain, resilience, human performance, and the very nature of selfhood. What was once a specialized domain now spans cardiology, gastroenterology, psychiatry, contemplative science, and neurotechnology.
At the same time, the rise of artificial intelligence has sharpened a fundamental question: can machines model intelligence without modeling the body? As AI systems grow more capable, embodied cognition — the science of how sensing the body shapes thinking, feeling, and knowing — has become a defining frontier for both neuroscience, technology, and the future of human-AI interaction.
Embodied Minds marks the next chapter. This summit convenes the researchers, clinicians, and translational thinkers who are defining the frontier — to take stock of how far we’ve come, to identify the questions that matter most and build the collaborations needed to move this science into the world.
At stake is a deeper understanding of how we feel, think, and experience being alive.
“The body is not merely the vessel for the mind. It is the ground from which the mind arises.”
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