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Meta-Analysis
. 2010 Jun;214(5-6):519-34.
doi: 10.1007/s00429-010-0255-z. Epub 2010 May 29.

A link between the systems: functional differentiation and integration within the human insula revealed by meta-analysis

Florian Kurth  1 , Karl Zilles, Peter T Fox, Angela R Laird, Simon B Eickhoff
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

A link between the systems: functional differentiation and integration within the human insula revealed by meta-analysis

Florian Kurth et al. Brain Struct Funct. 2010 Jun.

Abstract

Whether we feel sympathy for another, listen to our heartbeat, experience pain or negotiate, the insular cortex is thought to integrate perceptions, emotions, thoughts, and plans into one subjective image of "our world". The insula has hence been ascribed an integrative role, linking information from diverse functional systems. Nevertheless, various anatomical and functional studies in humans and non-human primates also indicate a functional differentiation of this region. In order to investigate this functional differentiation as well as the mechanisms of the functional integration in the insula, we performed activation-likelihood-estimation (ALE) meta-analyses of 1,768 functional neuroimaging experiments. The analysis revealed four functionally distinct regions on the human insula, which map to the social-emotional, the sensorimotor, the olfacto-gustatory, and the cognitive network of the brain. Sensorimotor tasks activated the mid-posterior and social-emotional tasks the anterior-ventral insula. In the central insula activation by olfacto-gustatory stimuli was found, and cognitive tasks elicited activation in the anterior-dorsal region. A conjunction analysis across these domains revealed that aside from basic somatosensory and motor processes all tested functions overlapped on the anterior-dorsal insula. This overlap might constitute a correlate for a functional integration between different functional systems and thus reflect a link between them necessary to integrate different qualities into a coherent experience of the world and setting the context for thoughts and actions.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement: None.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
To gain a free view on the insula, temporal lobe and opercula were removed (a, b). c visualization of the insular cortex, view on the left side left, on the right side right. This visualization will be used to display the results. ILS inferior limiting sulcus, SLS superior limiting sulcus, ALS anterior limiting sulcus, CIS central insular sulcus, postCIS postcentral insular sulcus, prcg precentral gyrus, msg middle short gyrus, asg anterior short gyrus
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Insular activations by the social-emotional domain. a Activations by emotion, b activations by empathy. Conventional results are displayed on the left, specific results on the right
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Insular activations by the chemical sensory domain. a Activations by olfaction, b activations by gustation. Conventional results are displayed on the left, specific results on the right
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Insular activations by the sensorimotor domain. a Activations by interoception, b activations by pain, c activations by somatosensation, d activations by motion. Conventional results are displayed on the left, specific results on the right
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Insular activations by the cognitive domain. a Activations by attention, b activations by language, c activations by speech d activations by working memory, e activations by memory. Conventional results are displayed on the left, specific results on the right
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Overlap of all functional categories except somatosensation and motion. All other eleven categories overlap on the anterior-dorsal part of the insula (a), indicating functional integration between them. b Throughout the whole brain the anterior-dorsal insula was the only region that participated in the processing of all eleven categories
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
Functional differentiation of the insula by functional domains. Red sensorimotor, green cognitive, yellow chemical sensory, blue social-emotional
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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