A Common Anterior Insula Representation of Disgust Observation, Experience and Imagination Shows Divergent Functional Connectivity Pathways

Jabbi, Mbemba; Bastiaansen, Jojanneke A.; Keysers, Christian

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0002939

Cited by 267 publications

(220 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…These FTD findings may reflect a basic role for the VENs, fork cells, and related circuitry in the control of appetite. The anterior insula/FI is activated when subjects view facial expressions of disgust (Phillips et al 1997;Jabbi et al 2008). Disgust (literally, bad taste) links appetite control and social feedback, which we believe are two key functions of these circuits.…”

Section: Nmb Expression In the Vensmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…The region corresponding to FI on the right side is also activated when subjects scrutinize facial expressions to discern intentions (Baron-Cohen et al 1999). The integrative functioning of the lateral part of FI in response to negative feedback is illustrated in a series of experiments by Jabbi et al (2008) who elicited activity in this VEN-rich region through experiences involving disgust mediated by taste, by the observation of someone else responding to a disgusting taste, and by imagining a disgusting taste. (Note, however, that the activity observed in these experiments could also have arisen from the adjacent inferior frontal region.)…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The von Economo neurons in frontoinsular and anterior cingulate cortex in great apes and humans

et al. 2010

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The von Economo neurons (VENs) are large bipolar neurons located in frontoinsular (FI) and anterior cingulate cortex in great apes and humans, but not other primates. We performed stereological counts of the VENs in FI and LA (limbic anterior, a component of anterior cingulate cortex) in great apes and in humans. The VENs are more numerous in humans than in apes, although one gorilla approached the lower end of the human range. We also examined the ontological development of the VENs in FI and LA in humans. The VENs first appear in small numbers in the 36th week post-conception, are rare at birth, and increase in number during the first 8 months after birth. There are significantly more VENs in the right hemisphere than in the left in FI and LA in postnatal brains of apes and humans. This asymmetry in VEN numbers may be related to asymmetries in the autonomic nervous system. The activity of the inferior anterior insula, which contains FI, is related to physiological changes in the body, decisionmaking, error recognition, and awareness. The VENs appear to be projection neurons, although their targets are unknown. We made a preliminary study of the connections of FI cortex based on diffusion tensor imaging in the brain of a gorilla. The VEN-containing regions connect to the frontal pole as well as to other parts of frontal and insular cortex, the septum, and the amygdala. It is likely that the VENs in FI are projecting to some or all of these structures and relaying information related to autonomic control, decision-making, or awareness. The VENs selectively express the bombesin peptides neuromedin B (NMB) and gastrin releasing peptide (GRP) which are also expressed in another population of closely related neurons, the fork cells. NMB and GRP signal satiety. The genes for NMB and GRP are expressed selectively in small populations of neurons in the insular cortex in mice. These populations may be related to the VEN and fork cells and may be involved in the regulation of appetite. The loss of these cells may be related to the loss of satiety signaling in patients with frontotemporal dementia who have damage to FI. The VENs and fork cells may be morphological specializations of an ancient population of neurons involved in the control of appetite present in the insular cortex in all mammals. We found that the protein encoded by the gene DISC1 (disrupted in schizophrenia) is preferentially expressed by the VENs. DISC1 has undergone rapid evolutionary change in the line leading to humans, and since it suppresses dendritic branching it may be involved in the distinctive VEN morphology.

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Section: Nmb Expression In the Vensmentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The von Economo neurons in frontoinsular and anterior cingulate cortex in great apes and humans

et al. 2010

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“…Further research has suggested that similar systems of shared representation of self and other exist for perception of pain (Bernhardt & Singer, 2012;Fitzgibbon, Giummarra, Georgiou-Karistianis, Enticott, & Bradshaw, 2010), touch (Keysers, Kaas, & Gazzola, 2010;Schaefer, Heinze, & Rotte, 2012) and emotional processing (Bastiaansen, Thioux, & Keysers, 2009;Jabbi, Bastiaansen, & Keysers, 2008). While there is still considerable debate about exactly how these shared activations contribute towards the understanding of others (see the following reviews for three distinct accounts: Cook, Bird, Catmur, Press, & Heyes, 2014;Gallese, 2007;Kilner, Friston, & Frith, 2007), the involvement of neural systems involved in representing the bodily self in social cognition is now well established.…”

Section: Prejudice and The Bodily Selfmentioning

confidence: 99%

Putting Ourselves in Another’s Skin: Using the Plasticity of Self-Perception to Enhance Empathy and Decrease Prejudice

Farmer

Maister

2017

Soc Just Res

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The self is one the most important concepts in social cognition and plays a crucial role in determining questions such as which social groups we view ourselves as belonging to and how we relate to others. In the past decade, the self has also become an important topic within cognitive neuroscience with an explosion in the number of studies seeking to understand how different aspects of the self are represented within the brain. In this paper, we first outline the recent research on the neurocognitive basis of the self and highlight a key distinction between two forms of self-representation. The first is the ''bodily'' self, which is thought to be the basis of subjective experience and is grounded in the processing of sensorimotor signals. The second is the ''conceptual'' self, which develops through our interactions of other and is formed of a rich network of associative and semantic information. We then investigate how both the bodily and conceptual self are related to social cognition with an emphasis on how self-representations are involved in the processing and creation of prejudice. We then highlight new research demonstrating that the bodily and conceptual self are both malleable and that this malleability can be harnessed in order to achieve a reduction in social prejudice. In particular, we will outline strong evidence that modulating people's perceptions of the bodily self can lead to changes in attitudes at the conceptual level. We will highlight a series of studies demonstrating that social attitudes towards various social out-groups (e.g. racial groups) can lead to a reduction in prejudice towards that group. Finally, we seek to place these findings in a broader social context by considering how innovations in virtual reality technology can allow experiences of taking on another's identity are likely to become both more commonplace and more convincing in the future and the various opportunities and risks associated with using such technology to reduce prejudice.

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“…However, the insula is very difficult to observe from a lateral view because of its anatomical position. The insula is the specific brain region that is responsible for disgust [69,70]. A meta-analysis of neuroimaging results on emotional processing revealed that the insula is also associated with threat-related emotions, such as fright [71,72].…”

Section: Insula and Cerebellummentioning

confidence: 99%

New advances in the neural correlates of insight: A decade in review of the insightful brain

et al. 2012

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The first neuroimaging study of real-time brain activity during insight problem solving was conducted almost ten years ago. Many subsequent studies have used high-resolution event-related potentials (ERPs) and event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the temporal dynamics and neural correlates of insight. Recent results on the neural underpinnings of insight have led researchers to propose a neural framework referred to as the "insightful brain". This putative framework represents the neural basis of the cognitive and affective processes that are involved in insight. The insightful brain may involve numerous brain regions, including the lateral prefrontal cortex, cingulate cortex, hippocampus, superior temporal gyrus, fusiform gyrus, precuneus, cuneus, insula and cerebellum. Functional studies have demonstrated that the lateral prefrontal cortex is responsible for mental set shifting and breaking during insight problem solving. The cingulate cortex is involved in the cognitive conflict between new and old ideas and progress monitoring. The hippocampus, superior temporal gyrus and fusiform gyrus form an integrated functional network that specializes in the formation of novel and effective associations. The effective transformation of problem representations depends on a non-verbal visuospatial information-processing network that comprises the precuneus and cuneus. The insula reflects cognitive flexibility and the emotional experience that is associated with insight. The cortical control of finger movements relies on the cerebellum. insight problem solving, insightful brain, creative thinking, neuroimaging, event-related potentials

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A Common Anterior Insula Representation of Disgust Observation, Experience and Imagination Shows Divergent Functional Connectivity Pathways

Cited by 267 publications

References 56 publications

The von Economo neurons in frontoinsular and anterior cingulate cortex in great apes and humans

The von Economo neurons in frontoinsular and anterior cingulate cortex in great apes and humans

Putting Ourselves in Another’s Skin: Using the Plasticity of Self-Perception to Enhance Empathy and Decrease Prejudice

New advances in the neural correlates of insight: A decade in review of the insightful brain

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