Qigong Institute

Anterior insular cortex plays a critical role in interoceptive attention.

Author: Wang X^#^1,², Wu Q^#^3,⁴, Egan L⁵, Gu X^6,^7,⁸, Liu P^1,², Gu H⁹, Yang Y⁹, Luo J³, Wu Y^4,¹⁰, Gao Z^1,², Fan J^5,^6,^7,¹¹
Affiliation:
¹Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
²China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases, Beijing, China.
³Beijing Key Lab of Learning and Cognition, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China.
⁴School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China.
⁵Department of Psychology, Queens College, The City University of New York, New York, United States.
⁶Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, United States.
⁷Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, United States.
⁸The Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, The James J. Peter Veterans Affairs Medical Center, New York, United States.
⁹Neuroimaging Research Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Baltimore, United States.
¹⁰Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China.
¹¹Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, United States.
^#Contributed equally
Conference/Journal: Elife.
Date published: 2019 Apr 15
Other: Volume ID: 8 , Special Notes: doi: 10.7554/eLife.42265. , Word Count: 166

Accumulating evidence indicates that the anterior insular cortex (AIC) mediates interoceptive attention which refers to attention towards physiological signals arising from the body. However, the necessity of the AIC in this process has not been demonstrated. Using a novel task that directs attention toward breathing rhythm, we assessed the involvement of the AIC in interoceptive attention in healthy participants using functional magnetic resonance imaging and examined the necessity of the AIC in interoceptive attention in patients with AIC lesions. Results showed that interoceptive attention was associated with increased AIC activation, as well as enhanced coupling between the AIC and somatosensory areas along with reduced coupling between the AIC and visual sensory areas. In addition, AIC activation was predictive of individual differences in interoceptive accuracy. Importantly, AIC lesion patients showed disrupted interoceptive discrimination accuracy and sensitivity. These results provide compelling evidence that the AIC plays a critical role in interoceptive attention.

KEYWORDS: anterior insular cortex; fMRI; human; interoceptive attention; lesion patients; neuroscience

PMID: 30985277 PMCID: PMC6488299 DOI: 10.7554/eLife.42265

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Anterior insular cortex plays a critical role in interoceptive attention.