Anterior insular cortex plays a critical role in interoceptive attention

Authors

• Xingchao Wang, Capital Medical University
• Qiong Wu, Capital Normal University
• Laura Egan, CUNY Queens College
• Xiaosu Gu, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
• Pinan Liu, Capital Medical University
• Hong Gu, National Institute on Drug Abuse
• Yihong Yang, National Institute on Drug Abuse
• Jing Luo, Capital Normal University
• Yanhong Wu, Peking University
• Zhixian Gao, Capital Medical University
• Jin Fan, CUNY Queens CollegeFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-15-2019

Abstract

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.

Comments

This article was originally published in eLife, available at https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.42265

This is an open access article distributed under a Creative Commons Universal Deed (CC0 1.0).