scholarly journals Anterior insular cortex plays a critical role in interoceptive attention

eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xingchao Wang ◽  
Qiong Wu ◽  
Laura Egan ◽  
Xiaosi Gu ◽  
Pinan Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Critical Role ◽  
Insular Cortex ◽  
The Body ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Discrimination Accuracy ◽  
Anterior Insular Cortex ◽  
Interoceptive Accuracy ◽  
Healthy Participants ◽  
Somatosensory Areas

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.

scholarly journals Anterior insular cortex plays a critical role in interoceptive attention

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xingchao Wang ◽  
Qiong Wu ◽  
Laura Egan ◽  
Xiaosi Gu ◽  
Pinan Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Critical Role ◽  
Insular Cortex ◽  
The Body ◽  
Physiological Signals ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Discrimination Accuracy ◽  
Anterior Insular Cortex ◽  
Interoceptive Accuracy ◽  
Healthy Participants

AbstractAlthough accumulating evidence indicates that the anterior insular cortex (AIC) mediates interoceptive attention, which refers the attention towards physiological signals arising from the body, 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. We found that interoceptive attention was associated with greater AIC activation, as well as enhanced coupling between the AIC and somatosensory area along with reduced coupling between AIC and visual sensory areas. AIC activation and connectivity were predictive of individual differences in interoceptive accuracy. Importantly, AIC lesion patients showed disrupted interoceptive discrimination accuracy and sensitivity. Together, these results provide compelling evidence that AIC plays a critical role in interoceptive attention.

The cerebral representation of scratching-induced pleasantness

2014 ◽  
Vol 111 (3) ◽  
pp. 488-498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hideki Mochizuki ◽  
Satoshi Tanaka ◽  
Tomoyo Morita ◽  
Toshiaki Wasaka ◽  
Norihiro Sadato ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Supplementary Motor Area ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Imaging Study ◽  
Insular Cortex ◽  
Reward System ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Significant Activation ◽  
Cerebral Mechanisms

Itch is an unpleasant sensation with the desire to scratch. Although it is well known that scratching itchy skin is pleasurable, the cerebral mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are poorly understood. We hypothesized that the reward system is associated with scratching-induced pleasantness. To investigate this hypothesis, a functional magnetic resonance imaging study was performed in 16 healthy subjects. Pleasantness was evoked by scratching the wrists where itch stimuli were applied, while scratching the dorsal forearms, far from itch stimuli, did not evoke pleasantness. Interestingly, pleasantness evoked by scratching activated not only the reward system (i.e., the striatum and midbrain) but also key regions of perception (i.e., the primary somatosensory cortex) and awareness of subjective feelings (i.e., the insular cortex), indicating that a broad network is involved in scratching-induced pleasantness. Moreover, although itch was suppressed by scratching, motor-related regions such as the supplementary motor area, premotor cortex, and cerebellum showed significant activation when pleasantness was evoked. This activation could explain why scratching-induced pleasantness potentially reinforces scratching behaviors. This study is the first to identify networks activated by scratching-induced pleasantness. The results of the present study provide important information on the cerebral mechanisms underlying why scratching itchy skin evokes pleasurable feelings that reinforce scratching behaviors.

scholarly journals Choosing to Make an Effort: The Role of Striatum in Signaling Physical Effort of a Chosen Action

2010 ◽  
Vol 104 (1) ◽  
pp. 313-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. T. Kurniawan ◽  
B. Seymour ◽  
D. Talmi ◽  
W. Yoshida ◽  
N. Chater ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Choice Behavior ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Physical Effort ◽  
Actual Choice ◽  
Healthy Participants ◽  
High Effort ◽  
Future Choice

The possibility that we will have to invest effort influences our future choice behavior. Indeed deciding whether an action is actually worth taking is a key element in the expression of human apathy or inertia. There is a well developed literature on brain activity related to the anticipation of effort, but how effort affects actual choice is less well understood. Furthermore, prior work is largely restricted to mental as opposed to physical effort or has confounded temporal with effortful costs. Here we investigated choice behavior and brain activity, using functional magnetic resonance imaging, in a study where healthy participants are required to make decisions between effortful gripping, where the factors of force (high and low) and reward (high and low) were varied, and a choice of merely holding a grip device for minimal monetary reward. Behaviorally, we show that force level influences the likelihood of choosing an effortful grip. We observed greater activity in the putamen when participants opt to grip an option with low effort compared with when they opt to grip an option with high effort. The results suggest that, over and above a nonspecific role in movement anticipation and salience, the putamen plays a crucial role in computations for choice that involves effort costs.

scholarly journals Somatotopic Arrangement of the Human Primary Somatosensory Cortex Derived From Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. R. Willoughby ◽  
Kristina Thoenes ◽  
Mark Bolding
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Somatosensory Cortex ◽  
Blood Oxygen Level Dependent ◽  
The Body ◽  
Primary Somatosensory Cortex ◽  
Entire Body ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to estimate neuronal activity in the primary somatosensory cortex of six participants undergoing cutaneous tactile stimulation on skin areas spread across the entire body. Differences between the accepted somatotopic maps derived from Penfield's work and those generated by this fMRI study were sought, including representational transpositions or replications across the cortex. MR-safe pneumatic devices mimicking the action of a Wartenberg wheel supplied touch stimuli in eight areas. Seven were on the left side of the body: foot, lower, and upper leg, trunk beneath ribcage, anterior forearm, middle fingertip, and neck above the collarbone. The eighth area was the glabella. Activation magnitude was estimated as the maximum cross-correlation coefficient at a certain phase shift between ideal time series and measured blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) time courses on the cortical surface. Maximally correlated clusters associated with each cutaneous area were calculated, and cortical magnification factors were estimated. Activity correlated to lower limb stimulation was observed in the paracentral lobule and superomedial postcentral region. Correlations to upper extremity stimulation were observed in the postcentral area adjacent to the motor hand knob. Activity correlated to trunk, face and neck stimulation was localized in the superomedial one-third of the postcentral region, which differed from Penfield's cortical homunculus.

scholarly journals Functional connectivity between the cerebellum and somatosensory areas implements the attenuation of self-generated touch

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantina Kilteni ◽  
H. Henrik Ehrsson
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Motor Control ◽  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Somatosensory Areas ◽  
Control Theories

AbstractSince the early 1970s, numerous behavioral studies have shown that self-generated touch feels less intense than the same touch applied externally. Computational motor control theories have suggested that cerebellar internal models predict the somatosensory consequences of our movements and that these predictions attenuate the perception of the actual touch. Despite this influential theoretical framework, little is known about the neural basis of this predictive attenuation. This is due to the limited number of neuroimaging studies, the presence of conflicting results about the role and the location of cerebellar activity, and the lack of behavioral measures accompanying the neural findings. Here, we combined psychophysics with functional magnetic resonance imaging to detect the neural processes underlying somatosensory attenuation in male and female healthy human participants. Activity in bilateral secondary somatosensory areas was attenuated when the touch was presented during a self-generated movement (self-generated touch) than in the absence of movement (external touch). An additional attenuation effect was observed in the cerebellum that is ipsilateral to the passive limb receiving the touch. Importantly, we further found that the degree of functional connectivity between the ipsilateral cerebellum and the contralateral primary and bilateral secondary somatosensory areas was linearly and positively related to the degree of behaviorally assessed attenuation; that is, the more participants perceptually attenuated their self-generated touches, the stronger this corticocerebellar coupling. Collectively, these results suggest that the ipsilateral cerebellum is fundamental in predicting self-generated touch and that this structure implements somatosensory attenuation via its functional connectivity with somatosensory areas.Significance statementWhen we touch our hand with the other, the resulting sensation feels less intense than when another person or a machine touches our hand with the same intensity. Early computational motor control theories have proposed that the cerebellum predicts and cancels the sensory consequences of our movements; however, the neural correlates of this cancelation remain unknown. By means of functional magnetic resonance imaging, we show that the more participants attenuate the perception of their self-generated touch, the stronger the functional connectivity between the cerebellum and the somatosensory cortical areas. This provides conclusive evidence about the role of the cerebellum in predicting the sensory feedback of our movements and in attenuating the associated percepts via its connections to early somatosensory areas.

MRI-Compatible Haptic Stimuli Delivery Systems for Investigating Neural Substrates of Touch

2016 ◽  
pp. 236-248
Author(s):  
Jiabin Yu ◽  
Zhiwei Wu ◽  
Jiajia Yang ◽  
Jinglong Wu
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Human Brain ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Rehabilitation Program ◽  
Tactile Perception ◽  
The Body ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been widely used to study human tactile perception. To reveal many unsolved problems to human tactile perception, developing complex and fMRI-compatible stimulation devices are crucial for tactile perception research. These stimulation devices, combined with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), can assist researchers in analyzing human brain activity. Through analyzing human brain activity, researchers can clarify how the human brain controls the body. Meanwhile, these device scan provide the best rehabilitation program for patients. This chapter presents previous fMRI-compatible stimulation devices, including texture stimulation, shape stimulation, vibrotactile stimulation, etc., which involve the hands, face, ears, legs and other parts of the body. In this chapter, we examine the design of the devices in greater detail. Finally, we summarize the characteristics of these devices and create an outlook for future fMRI-compatible devices.

Object Activation from Features in the Semantic System

2002 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Kraut ◽  
Sarah Kremen ◽  
Jessica B. Segal ◽  
Vincent Calhoun ◽  
Lauren R. Moo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Object Representation ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Semantic System ◽  
Co Activation ◽  
Signal Changes ◽  
Cortical Regions ◽  
Object Features

The human brain is thought to elicit an object representation via co-activation of neural regions that encode various object features. The cortical regions and mechanisms involved in this process have never been elucidated for the semantic system. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to evaluate regions activated during a task designed to elicit object activation within the semantic system (e.g., presenting the words “desert” and “humps” with the task to determine if they combine to form an object, in this case a “camel”). There were signal changes in the thalamus for word pairs that activated an object, but not for pairs that (a) failed to activate an object, (b) were simply semantically associated, or (c) were members of the same category. These results suggest that the thalamus has a critical role in coordinating the cortical activity required for activating an object concept in the semantic system.

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