Body-wandering reveals an embodied dimension of thought with distinct affective and neural signatures

Humans often engage in self-generated thoughts when unoccupied by external events, a phenomenon commonly known as mind-wandering. Previous research has predominantly focused on the cognitive aspects of mind-wandering, overlooking the potential embodied or interoceptive components that contribute to our ongoing thought patterns. In this study, we addressed this gap by exploring “body-wandering“—thoughts related to internal bodily sensations such as breathing, heartbeat, and gastrointestinal functions. To assess body-wandering, we applied a retrospective multi-dimensional interoceptive experience sampling approach in 536 healthy participants concurrently with resting-state functional brain imaging. Our findings revealed that body-wandering is distinct from cognitively focused thoughts, underscoring the unique role of embodied processes in ongoing experience. Embodied thought patterns were associated with increased negative affect, heightened physiological arousal, and reduced ADHD symptoms. In contrast, cognitive-focused thoughts were linked to decreased negative affect, lower arousal, and higher depression symptoms. Notably, body-wandering corresponded with a unique neural signature involving increased connectivity between somatomotor, interoceptive, and thalamocortical brain networks. These results emphasise the importance of incorporating embodied processes into theoretical models of mind-wandering and suggest that individual differences in body-wandering significantly impact emotional states and mental health.