Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Università di Parma, 43100 Parma, Italy.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Jun 19;109(25):10077-82. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1200143109. Epub 2012 May 30.
In the last few years, the insula has been the focus of many brain-imaging studies, mostly devoted to clarify its role in emotions and social communication. Physiological data, however, on which one may ground these correlative findings are almost totally lacking. Here, we investigated the functional properties of the insular cortex in behaving monkeys using intracortical microstimulation. Behavioral responses and heart rate changes were recorded. The results showed that the insula is functionally formed by two main subdivisions: (i) a sensorimotor field occupying the caudal-dorsal portion of the insula and appearing as an extension of the parietal lobe; and (ii) a mosaic of orofacial motor programs located in the anterior and centroventral insula sector. These programs show a progressive shift from dorsally located nonemotional motor programs (ingestive activity) to ventral ones laden with emotional and communicative content. The relationship between ingestive and other behaviors is discussed in an evolutionary perspective.
在过去的几年中，脑岛一直是许多脑成像研究的焦点，这些研究主要致力于阐明其在情绪和社会交流中的作用。然而，几乎完全缺乏可以作为这些相关发现基础的生理数据。在这里，我们使用脑内微刺激研究了行为猴子的脑岛皮层的功能特性。记录了行为反应和心率变化。结果表明，脑岛由两个主要的子区域组成：（i）占据脑岛的尾侧背侧部分的感觉运动区域，表现为顶叶的延伸；（ii）位于脑岛的前侧和中侧区域的镶嵌式的口面运动程序。这些程序显示出从位于背侧的非情感运动程序（摄取活动）到带有情感和交流内容的腹侧程序的逐渐转变。从进化的角度讨论了摄取行为和其他行为之间的关系。
