ABSTRACT
Body perception, or interoception, is made up of a multitude of sensory systems, coarsely sorted by functional aspects into proprioception, visceroception, and nociception (Sherrington, 1906). Proprioception, in its modern interpretation, includes the haptic-somatic sensitivity, with tactile and thermal submodalities of the skin senses, as well as the sensitivity for movement and position of the joints and the limbs and for body posture. Visceroception relates to the perception of signals from the intestines, originating from receptors in the hollow organs, which are sensitive for pressure and distension (Hölzl, Erasmus, & Möltner, 1996). Nociception, finally, is the processing of intense, noxious stimuli that may originate from all parts of the body, thus encompassing aspects of somatic-haptic sensitivity and visceroception.
