Abstract
The insula is a “hub” where the subjective feelings of humans regulate emotion, cognition, and motivation. Indeed, the sensorial inputs reach the posterior section of the insula and are then redirected to the anterior part where many connections with other cortical regions take place. Therefore, a pleasant stimulus induces an action aimed at the persistence of that feeling, while unpleasant interoceptive information leads to avoidant behaviors.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Kurth F, Zilles K, Fox PT, Laird AR, Eickhoff SB. A link between the systems: functional differentiation and integration within the human insula revealed by meta-analysis. Brain Struct Funct. 2010;214(5–6):519–34.
Pavuluri M, May A. I feel, therefore, I am: the insula and its role in human emotion, cognition and the sensory-motor system. AIMS Neurosci. 2015;2:18–27.
Eckert MA, Menon V, Walczak A, Ahlstrom J, Denslow S, Horwitz A, Dubno JR. At the heart of the ventral attention system: the right anterior insula. Hum Brain Mapp. 2009;30:2530–41.
Yarkoni T, Barch DM, Gray JR, Conturo TE, Braver TS. BOLD correlates of trial-by-trial reaction time variability in gray and white matter: a multi-study fMRI analysis. PLoS One. 2009;4:e4257.
Augustine JR. Circuitry and functional aspects of the insular lobe in primates including humans. Brain Res Brain Res Rev. 1996;22:229–44.
Chang LJ, Yarkoni T, Khaw MW, Sanfey AG. Decoding the role of the insula in human cognition: functional parcellation and large-scale reverse inference. Cereb Cortex. 2013;23:739–49.
Aiba T, Tanaka R, Koike T, Kameyama S, Takeda N, Komata T. Natural history of intracranial cavernous malformations. J Neurosurg. 1995;83:56–9.
Craig AD. How do you feel? Interoception: the sense of the physiological condition of the body. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2002;3:655–66.
Craig AD. How do you feel-now? The anterior insula and human awareness. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2009;10:59–70.
Namkung H, Kim SH, Sawa A. The insula: an underestimated brain area in clinical neuroscience, psychiatry, and neurology. Trends Neurosci. 2017;40:200–7.
Damasio A. Feelings of emotion and the self. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2003;1001:253–61.
Bauernfeind AL, de Sousa AA, Avasthi T, Dobson SD, Raghanti MA, Lewandowski AH, Zilles K, Semendeferi K, Allman JM, Craig AD, Hof PR, Sherwood CC. A volumetric comparison of the insular cortex and its subregions in primates. J Hum Evol. 2013;64:263–79.
Uddin LQ. Salience processing and insular cortical function and dysfunction. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2015;16:55–61.
Stephani C, Fernandez-Baca Vaca G, Maciunas R, Koubeissi M, Lüders HO. Functional neuroanatomy of the insular lobe. Brain Struct Funct. 2011;216:137–49.
Cauda F, Torta DM, Sacco K, D'Agata F, Geda E, Duca S, Geminiani G, Vercelli A. Functional anatomy of cortical areas characterized by Von Economo neurons. Brain Struct Funct. 2013;218:1–20.
Santos M, Uppal N, Butti C, Wicinski B, Schmeidler J, Giannakopoulos P, Heinsen H, Schmitz C, Hof PR. Von Economo neurons in autism: a stereologic study of the frontoinsular cortex in children. Brain Res. 2011;1380:206–17.
Uddin LQ, Menon V. The anterior insula in autism: under-connected and under-examined. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2009;33:1198–203.
Wiech K, Jbabdi S, Lin CS, Andersson J, Tracey I. Differential structural and resting state connectivity between insular subdivisions and other pain-related brain regions. Pain. 2014;155:2047–55.
McGrath CL, Kelley ME, Holtzheimer PE, Dunlop BW, Craighead WE, Franco AR, Craddock RC, Mayberg HS. Toward a neuroimaging treatment selection biomarker for major depressive disorder. JAMA Psychiat. 2013;70:821–9.
Rolland B, Amad A, Poulet E, Bordet R, Vignaud A, Bation R, Delmaire C, Thomas P, Cottencin O, Jardri R. Resting-state functional connectivity of the nucleus accumbens in auditory and visual hallucinations in schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull. 2015;41:291–9.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
de Divitiis, O., Somma, T., Giordano, D., Turgut, M., Cappabianca, P. (2018). Role of the Insula in Human Cognition and Motivation. In: Turgut, M., Yurttaş , C., Tubbs, R. (eds) Island of Reil (Insula) in the Human Brain. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75468-0_15
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75468-0_15
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-75467-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-75468-0
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)