Our Research
Overview
The Khalsa Lab uses an experimental medicine framework to study how heart-brain and gut-brain communication is dysregulated in psychiatric conditions. Using pharmacological stimulation, brain imaging, EEG, and computational modeling, we identify the sensory and regulatory circuits underlying interoception and target them for new treatments.
Core Research
- Heart-brain interoception
- gut-brain interoception
- anxiety disorders
- anorexia nervosa
- floatation-REST
- computational psychiatry
- active inference
- interoceptive biomarkers
Key Technologies & Methodologies
fMRI
EEG
isoproterenol infusion paradigm
ingestible vibrating capsule (gut mechanosensation)
floatation-REST
Bayesian computational modeling
body surface gastric mapping (BSGM)
Research Highlights
Neural Circuits of Heart-Brain Interoception in Anxiety Disorders
Gut-Brain Interoception & Anorexia Nervosa
Floatation-REST as a Novel Psychiatric Treatment