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Abstract

Continuous interactions between physiological body–brain rhythms influence how individuals act, perceive, and evaluate their environment. Despite increasing interest, the intricate interface between breathing, cardiac, neural rhythms, and cognitive function remains poorly understood. By evaluating current theoretical and empirical implications, we derive an integrative framework of a ‘body–brain dynamic system’ that combines a hidden hierarchical structure with dynamical state transitions. We propose that body–brain signals can interchangeably drive state- and task-specific coupling mechanisms which influence cognitive functions. The dynamical nature of this framework parallels the intrinsic variability of human behavior, and ultimately aims at better understanding how individuals act in and adapt to a dynamically changing environment.