We sat down with Dr. Martin Paulus, President and Scientific Director of the Laurier Institute for Brain Research, to explore one of the most significant findings in interoception research: prior expectations can prevent accurate interoceptive signaling. For clients with trauma histories, this means they may not be sensing danger, they’re expecting it, and their brain delivers that experience.

In this exclusive interview, Dr. Paulus explains how his team has developed paradigms to measure how much our clients’ prior expectations (often established through ACEs, trauma, and early life stress) influence what they actually perceive in their bodies. This isn’t just about “body awareness”, it’s about understanding how the predictive brain constructs interoceptive experience, and what that means for your clinical work with trauma, anxiety, depression, relationship patterns, and so much more.