Circuits for Emotion Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, Martinsried, Germany.
International Max Planck Research School for Molecular Life Sciences, Munich, Germany.
Nat Neurosci. 2019 Sep;22(9):1424-1437. doi: 10.1038/s41593-019-0469-1. Epub 2019 Aug 27.
Triggering behavioral adaptation upon the detection of adversity is crucial for survival. The insular cortex has been suggested to process emotions and homeostatic signals, but how the insular cortex detects internal states and mediates behavioral adaptation is poorly understood. By combining data from fiber photometry, optogenetics, awake two-photon calcium imaging and comprehensive whole-brain viral tracings, we here uncover a role for the posterior insula in processing aversive sensory stimuli and emotional and bodily states, as well as in exerting prominent top-down modulation of ongoing behaviors in mice. By employing projection-specific optogenetics, we describe an insula-to-central amygdala pathway to mediate anxiety-related behaviors, while an independent nucleus accumbens-projecting pathway regulates feeding upon changes in bodily state. Together, our data support a model in which the posterior insular cortex can shift behavioral strategies upon the detection of aversive internal states, providing a new entry point to understand how alterations in insula circuitry may contribute to neuropsychiatric conditions.
在检测到逆境时触发行为适应对于生存至关重要。岛叶皮层被认为可以处理情绪和体内平衡信号，但岛叶皮层如何检测内部状态并介导行为适应仍知之甚少。通过结合光纤光度测定法、光遗传学、清醒双光子钙成像和全面的全脑病毒追踪技术，我们在这里揭示了后岛叶在处理厌恶感觉刺激、情绪和身体状态以及在发挥突出的上位调制方面的作用在老鼠的进行中的行为。通过采用特定于投射的光遗传学，我们描述了一条从岛叶到杏仁中央核的通路来介导与焦虑相关的行为，而另一条独立的从伏隔核投射到躯体状态变化时调节进食的通路。总的来说，我们的数据支持了一个模型，即后岛叶皮层可以在检测到厌恶的内部状态时改变行为策略，为理解岛叶回路的改变如何导致神经精神疾病提供了一个新的切入点。
