Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Island of Reil (Insula) in the Human Brain pp 101–111Cite as

Measurements of the Insula Volume Using MRI

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

  • 1144 Accesses

Abstract

Following the development of the neuroimaging sciences, the insula has been anatomically and functionally evaluated. With the new technology, important information about physiology and anatomy were obtained after CT, MR, and PET. Recent neuroimaging studies showed that volumetric changes of the insular cortex may be associated with many neuropsychiatric diseases. Most studies have shown that the volume of the insula in these psychiatric diseases was smaller than in healthy people. The main purpose of this book chapter is to provide some information about the volume of the insula and its clinical concepts.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   79.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Abbreviations

BD:

Bipolar disorder

CT:

Computed tomography

DARTEL:

Diffeomorphic Anatomical Registration Through Exponentiated Lie Algebra

DTI:

Diffusion tensor imaging

fMRI:

Functional MRI

GM:

Gray matter

IBASPM:

Individual Brain Atlas using Statistical Parametric Mapping

MDD:

Major depressive disorder

MNI:

Montreal Neurological Institute

MRI:

Magnetic resonance imaging

NTS:

Nucleus tractus solitarius

OCD:

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

PDD:

Pervasive developmental disorders

PET:

Positron emission tomography

PTSD:

Post-traumatic stress disorder

rCBF:

Regional cerebral blood flow

ROI:

Region of interest

SPM:

Statistical Parametric Mapping

VBM:

Voxel-based morphometry

VPM:

Ventral posteromedial thalamic nucleus

WM:

White matter

References

  1. Augustine JR. Circuitry and functional aspects of the insular lobe in primates including humans. Brain Res Brain Res Rev. 1996;22(3):229–44.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Ashburner J. A fast diffeomorphic image registration algorithm. Neuroimage. 2007;38(1):95–113. Epub 2007 Jul 18.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Penfield W, Faulk ME Jr. The insula; further observations on its function. Brain. 1955;78(4):445–70.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Nagai M, Kishi K, Kato S. Insular cortex and neuropsychiatric disorders: a review of recent literature. Eur Psychiatry. 2007;22(6):387–94. Epub 2007 Apr 9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Ture U, Yasargil DC, Al-Mefty O, Yasargil MG. Topographic anatomy of the insular region. J Neurosurg. 1999;90(4):720–33.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Cauda F, D’Agata F, Sacco K, Duca S, Geminiani G, Vercelli A. Functional connectivity of the insula in the resting brain. Neuroimage. 2011;55(1):8–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.11.049. Epub 2010 Nov 24.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Guenot M, Isnard J, Sindou M. Surgical anatomy of the insula. Adv Tech Stand Neurosurg. 2004;29:265–88.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Stephani C, Fernandez-Baca Vaca G, Maciunas R, Koubeissi M, Luders HO. Functional neuroanatomy of the insular lobe. Brain Struct Funct. 2011;216(2):137–49. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-010-0296-3. Epub 2010 Dec 14.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Varnavas GG, Grand W. The insular cortex: morphological and vascular anatomic characteristics. Neurosurgery. 1999;44(1):127–36. discussion 136-8.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Chang LJ, Smith A, Dufwenberg M, Sanfey AG. Triangulating the neural, psychological, and economic bases of guilt aversion. Neuron. 2011;70(3):560–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2011.02.056.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Singer T, Critchley HD, Preuschoff K. A common role of insula in feelings, empathy and uncertainty. Trends Cogn Sci. 2009;13(8):334–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2009.05.001. Epub 2009 Jul 28.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Sanfey AG, Rilling JK, Aronson JA, Nystrom LE, Cohen JD. The neural basis of economic decision-making in the Ultimatum Game. Science. 2003;300(5626):1755–8.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Dosenbach NU, Visscher KM, Palmer ED, Miezin FM, Wenger KK, Kang HC, Burgund ED, Grimes AL, Schlaggar BL, Petersen SE. A core system for the implementation of task sets. Neuron. 2006;50(5):799–812.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  14. 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(8):2530–41. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.20688.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Craig AD. Interoception: the sense of the physiological condition of the body. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2003;13(4):500–5.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Bamiou DE, Musiek FE, Luxon LM. The insula (Island of Reil) and its role in auditory processing. Literature review. Brain Res Brain Res Rev. 2003;42(2):143–54.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Critchley HD. Neural mechanisms of autonomic, affective, and cognitive integration. J Comp Neurol. 2005;493(1):154–66.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Craig AD. How do you feel—now? The anterior insula and human awareness. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2009;10(1):59–70. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2555.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Mesulam MM, Mufson EJ. Insula of the old world monkey. III: efferent cortical output and comments on function. J Comp Neurol. 1982;212(1):38–52.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Makris N, Goldstein JM, Kennedy D, Hodge SM, Caviness VS, Faraone SV, Tsuang MT, Seidman LJ. Decreased volume of left and total anterior insular lobule in schizophrenia. Schizophr Res. 2006;83(2–3):155–71. Epub 2006 Jan 31.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Rolls ET. Information processing in the taste system of primates. J Exp Biol. 1989;146:141–64.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Daniels SK, Foundas AL. The role of the insular cortex in dysphagia. Dysphagia. 1997;12(3):146–56.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Mutschler I, Wieckhorst B, Kowalevski S, Derix J, Wentlandt J, Schulze-Bonhage A, Ball T. Functional organization of the human anterior insular cortex. Neurosci Lett. 2009;457(2):66–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.2009.03.101. Epub 2009 Apr 5.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. 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(4):263–79.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  25. Ashburner J, Friston KJ. Voxel-based morphometry—the methods. Neuroimage. 2000;11(6 Pt 1):805–21.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Craig AD. Forebrain emotional asymmetry: a neuroanatomical basis? Trends Cogn Sci. 2005;9(12):566–71. Epub 2005 Nov 4.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Semendeferi K, Damasio H. The brain and its main anatomical subdivisions in living hominoids using magnetic resonance imaging. J Hum Evol. 2000;38(2):317–32.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Takahashi T, Wood SJ, Soulsby B, Tanino R, Wong MT, McGorry PD, Suzuki M, Velakoulis D, Pantelis C. Diagnostic specificity of the insular cortex abnormalities in first-episode psychotic disorders. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2009;33(4):651–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnpbp.2009.03.005. Epub 2009 Mar 17.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Takahashi T, Wood SJ, Yung AR, Phillips LJ, Soulsby B, McGorry PD, Tanino R, Zhou SY, Suzuki M, Velakoulis D, Pantelis C. Insular cortex gray matter changes in individuals at ultra-high-risk of developing psychosis. Schizophr Res. 2009;111(1–3):94–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2009.03.024. Epub 2009 Apr 5.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Jiao Q, Ding J, Lu G, Su L, Zhang Z, Wang Z, Zhong Y, Li K, Ding M, Liu Y. Increased activity imbalance in fronto-subcortical circuits in adolescents with major depression. PLoS One. 2011;6(9):e25159. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0025159. Epub 2011 Sep 16.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Saze T, Hirao K, Namiki C, Fukuyama H, Hayashi T, Murai T. Insular volume reduction in schizophrenia. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2007;257(8):473–9. Epub 2007 Sep 27.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Yamada M, Hirao K, Namiki C, Hanakawa T, Fukuyama H, Hayashi T, Murai T. Social cognition and frontal lobe pathology in schizophrenia: a voxel-based morphometric study. Neuroimage. 2007;35(1):292–8. Epub 2007 Jan 19.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Mataix-Cols D, Wooderson S, Lawrence N, Brammer MJ, Speckens A, Phillips ML. Distinct neural correlates of washing, checking, and hoarding symptom dimensions in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2004;61(6):564–76.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Matsuo K, Kopecek M, Nicoletti MA, Hatch JP, Watanabe Y, Nery FG, Zunta-Soares G, Soares JC. New structural brain imaging endophenotype in bipolar disorder. Mol Psychiatry. 2012;17(4):412–20. https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2011.3. Epub 2011 Feb 15.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Crespo-Facorro B, Kim J, Andreasen NC, O’Leary DS, Bockholt HJ, Magnotta V. Insular cortex abnormalities in schizophrenia: a structural magnetic resonance imaging study of first-episode patients. Schizophr Res. 2000;46(1):35–43.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Goldstein JM, Goodman JM, Seidman LJ, Kennedy DN, Makris N, Lee H, Tourville J, Caviness VS Jr, Faraone SV, Tsuang MT. Cortical abnormalities in schizophrenia identified by structural magnetic resonance imaging. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1999;56(6):537–47.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Sigmundsson T, Suckling J, Maier M, Williams S, Bullmore E, Greenwood K, Fukuda R, Ron M, Toone B. Structural abnormalities in frontal, temporal, and limbic regions and interconnecting white matter tracts in schizophrenic patients with prominent negative symptoms. Am J Psychiatry. 2001;158(2):234–43.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Wright IC, Ellison ZR, Sharma T, Friston KJ, Murray RM, McGuire PK. Mapping of grey matter changes in schizophrenia. Schizophr Res. 1999;35(1):1–14.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Ha TH, Youn T, Ha KS, Rho KS, Lee JM, Kim IY, Kim SI, Kwon JS. Gray matter abnormalities in paranoid schizophrenia and their clinical correlations. Psychiatry Res. 2004;132(3):251–60.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Hulshoff Pol HE, Schnack HG, Mandl RC, van Haren NE, Koning H, Collins DL, Evans AC, Kahn RS. Focal gray matter density changes in schizophrenia. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2001;58(12):1118–25.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Oishi K, Faria A, Jiang H, Li X, Akhter K, Zhang J, Hsu JT, Miller MI, van Zijl PC, Albert M, Lyketsos CG, Woods R, Toga AW, Pike GB, Rosa-Neto P, Evans A, Mazziotta J, Mori S. Atlas-based whole brain white matter analysis using large deformation diffeomorphic metric mapping: application to normal elderly and Alzheimer's disease participants. Neuroimage. 2009;46(2):486–99.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Langerak TR, van der Heide UA, Kotte AN, Viergever MA, van Vulpen M, Pluim JP. Label fusion in atlas-based segmentation using a selective and iterative method for performance level estimation (SIMPLE). IEEE Trans Med Imaging. 2010;29(12):2000–8. https://doi.org/10.1109/TMI.2010.2057442. Epub 2010 Jul 26.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Pujol J, Soriano-Mas C, Alonso P, Cardoner N, Menchon JM, Deus J, Vallejo J. Mapping structural brain alterations in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2004;61(7):720–30.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Yoo SY, Roh MS, Choi JS, Kang DH, Ha TH, Lee JM, Kim IY, Kim SI, Kwon JS. Voxel-based morphometry study of gray matter abnormalities in obsessive-compulsive disorder. J Korean Med Sci. 2008;23(1):24–30. https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2008.23.1.24.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  45. Nishida S, Narumoto J, Sakai Y, Matsuoka T, Nakamae T, Yamada K, Nishimura T, Fukui K. Anterior insular volume is larger in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2011;35(4):997–1001. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnpbp.2011.01.022. Epub 2011 Feb 17.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  46. Kosaka H, Omori M, Munesue T, Ishitobi M, Matsumura Y, Takahashi T, Narita K, Murata T, Saito DN, Uchiyama H, Morita T, Kikuchi M, Mizukami K, Okazawa H, Sadato N, Wada Y. Smaller insula and inferior frontal volumes in young adults with pervasive developmental disorders. Neuroimage. 2010;50(4):1357–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.01.085. Epub 2010 Feb 1.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Rauch SL, Savage CR, Alpert NM, Fischman AJ, Jenike MA. The functional neuroanatomy of anxiety: a study of three disorders using positron emission tomography and symptom provocation. Biol Psychiatry. 1997;42(6):446–52.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  48. Schienle A, Schafer A, Stark R, Walter B, Vaitl D. Neural responses of OCD patients towards disorder-relevant, generally disgust-inducing and fear-inducing pictures. Int J Psychophysiol. 2005;57(1):69–77. Epub 2005 Apr 22.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  49. Gilbert AR, Akkal D, Almeida JR, Mataix-Cols D, Kalas C, Devlin B, Birmaher B, Phillips ML. Neural correlates of symptom dimensions in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2009;48(9):936–44. https://doi.org/10.1097/CHI.0b013e3181b2163c.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  50. Nakamae T, Narumoto J, Shibata K, Matsumoto R, Kitabayashi Y, Yoshida T, Yamada K, Nishimura T, Fukui K. Alteration of fractional anisotropy and apparent diffusion coefficient in obsessive-compulsive disorder: a diffusion tensor imaging study. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2008;32(5):1221–6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnpbp.2008.03.010. Epub 2008 Mar 25.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  51. Selvaraj S, Arnone D, Job D, Stanfield A, Farrow TF, Nugent AC, Scherk H, Gruber O, Chen X, Sachdev PS, Dickstein DP, Malhi GS, Ha TH, Ha K, Phillips ML, McIntosh AM. Grey matter differences in bipolar disorder: a meta-analysis of voxel-based morphometry studies. Bipolar Disord. 2012;14(2):135–45. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1399-5618.2012.01000.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  52. Tang LR, Liu CH, Jing B, Ma X, Li HY, Zhang Y, Li F, Wang YP, Yang Z, Wang CY. Voxel-based morphometry study of the insular cortex in bipolar depression. Psychiatry Res. 2014;224(2):89–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pscychresns.2014.08.004. Epub 2014 Aug 28.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  53. Rolls ET, Joliot M, Tzourio-Mazoyer N. Implementation of a new parcellation of the orbitofrontal cortex in the automated anatomical labeling atlas. Neuroimage. 2015;122:1–5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.07.075. Epub 2015 Aug 1.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  54. Tzourio-Mazoyer N, Landeau B, Papathanassiou D, Crivello F, Etard O, Delcroix N, Mazoyer B, Joliot M. Automated anatomical labeling of activations in SPM using a macroscopic anatomical parcellation of the MNI MRI single-subject brain. Neuroimage. 2002;15(1):273–89.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  55. Ma J, Ma HT, Li H, Ye C, Wu D, Tang X, Miller M, Mori S. A fast atlas pre-selection procedure for multi-atlas based brain segmentation. Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2015;2015:3053–6. https://doi.org/10.1109/EMBC.2015.7319036.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  56. Ceritoglu C, Oishi K, Li X, Chou MC, Younes L, Albert M, Lyketsos C, van Zijl PC, Miller MI, Mori S. Multi-contrast large deformation diffeomorphic metric mapping for diffusion tensor imaging. Neuroimage. 2009;47(2):618–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.04.057. Epub 2009 May 3.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  57. Djamanakova A, Tang X, Li X, Faria AV, Ceritoglu C, Oishi K, Hillis AE, Albert M, Lyketsos C, Miller MI, Mori S. Tools for multiple granularity analysis of brain MRI data for individualized image analysis. Neuroimage. 2014;101:168–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.06.046. Epub 2014 Jun 27.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  58. Artaechevarria X, Munoz-Barrutia A, Ortiz-de-Solorzano C. Combination strategies in multi-atlas image segmentation: application to brain MR data. IEEE Trans Med Imaging. 2009;28(8):1266–77. https://doi.org/10.1109/TMI.2009.2014372. Epub 2009 Feb 18.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  59. Warfield SK, Zou KH, Wells WM. Simultaneous truth and performance level estimation (STAPLE): an algorithm for the validation of image segmentation. IEEE Trans Med Imaging. 2004;23(7):903–21.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, Erciyes University School of Medicine, Kayseri, Turkey

    Niyazi Acer Ph.D.

  2. Department of Neurosurgery, Adnan Menderes University School of Medicine, Aydın, Turkey

    Mehmet Turgut

Authors
  1. Niyazi Acer Ph.D.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mehmet Turgut
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Adnan Menderes University, School of Medicine , Aydın, Turkey

    Mehmet Turgut

  2. Ege University, Department of Anatomy, Izmir, Turkey

    Canan Yurttaş

  3. Seattle Science Foundation, Seattle, Washington, USA

    R. Shane Tubbs

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Acer, N., Turgut, M. (2018). Measurements of the Insula Volume Using MRI. 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_10

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75468-0_10

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-75467-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-75468-0

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation