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Plasticity in the Interoceptive System

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The Plastic Brain

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 1015))

Abstract

The most outstanding manifestations of the plastic capacities of brain circuits and their neuronal and synaptic components in the adult CNS are learning and memory. A reduced number of basic plastic mechanisms underlie learning capacities at many levels and regions of the brain. The interoceptive system is no exception, and some of the most studied behavioral changes that involve learning and memory engage the interoceptive pathways at many levels of their anatomical and functional organization.

In this chapter, we will review four examples of learning, mostly in rats, where the interoceptive system has a role. In the case of conditioned taste aversion, the interoceptive system is of outstanding importance. In drug addiction, the role of the insular cortex – the highest level of the interoceptive system– is unusual and complex, as many forebrain regions are engaged by the process of addiction. In the third example, neophobia, the gustatory region of the insular cortex plays a major role. Finally, the role of different areas of the insular cortex in different processes of aversive memory, particularly fear conditioning, will be reviewed.

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Abbreviations

BLA:

Basolateral amygdala

CTA:

Conditioned taste aversion

ERK:

Extracellular signal-regulated kinases

IC:

Insular cortex

MAPK:

Mitogen-activated protein kinases

NMDA:

N-Methyl-D-aspartate

NTS:

Nucleus of the solitary tract

pIC:

Posterior insular cortex

RAIC:

Rostral agranular insular cortex

TRN:

Thalamic reticular nucleus

VPLpc:

Ventroposterolateral parvicellular thalamic nucleus

VPMpc:

Ventroposteromedial parvicellular thalamic nucleus

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile

    Fernando Torrealba, Marco Contreras & Karina Gómez

  2. Centro de Fisiología Celular e Integrativa, Facultad de Medicina, Clínica Alemana – Universidad del Desarrollo, Concepción, Chile

    Carlos Madrid

Authors
  1. Fernando Torrealba
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  2. Carlos Madrid
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  3. Marco Contreras
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  4. Karina Gómez
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Correspondence to Fernando Torrealba .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile

    Rommy von Bernhardi

  2. Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile

    Jaime Eugenín

  3. University of Miami, Miami, USA

    Kenneth J Muller

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Torrealba, F., Madrid, C., Contreras, M., Gómez, K. (2017). Plasticity in the Interoceptive System. In: von Bernhardi, R., Eugenín, J., Muller, K. (eds) The Plastic Brain. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 1015. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62817-2_4

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