Sensory and emotional processing in the human insula

人类脑岛的感觉和情绪处理

• 批准号: RGPIN-2016-05216
• 负责人: Nguyen, Dang
• 金额: $ 2.04万
• 依托单位: Université de Montréal
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2019-01-01 至 2020-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=682777
• 关键词: Sensory; emotional; processing; human; insula

The insula is one of the least understood areas of the brain mostly due to its location: in the depth of the Sylvian fissure, which makes it less accessible and less susceptible to isolated injury than other cortical structures. Long solely viewed as a primitive visceral brain' structure, the insular cortex has gained much interest in the last decades with the advent of functional neuroimaging techniques, which have revealed insular responses to a wide variety of stimuli and paradigms. Functional domains that have been related to the insula include multisensory and pain processing, emotional experience, empathy and social cognition, motivation, and decision-making. However, the specific role of the insula in these functions remains uncertain. In the past 10 years, my team has contributed to the recognition of the insular cortex as a possible focus of epileptic seizures, and insular resections have been performed at our epilepsy centre in more than 30 patients with refractory epilepsy. We also perform direct exploration of the insula on a regular basis using intracranial electrodes to better delineate the epileptogenic zone when non-invasive techniques cannot, making it possible to study insular activity in response to various types of stimuli and tasks with very high temporal and spatial resolution. Access to this population provides us with an unprecedented opportunity to study the functions of the insular cortex in humans. The intent of this proposal is to provide a better understanding of the role of the human insula in sensory and emotional processing, using a combination of behavioral, electrophysiological, and neuroimaging techniques in patients with isolated insular injury as well as in healthy participants. Improving our comprehension of a brain area which has long been neglected is a fundamental issue belonging to the natural sciences. This program is focused on a single structure, the insula, which is involved in a variety of functions. By focusing on one of the least studied areas of the cerebral cortex, using the most state-of-the-art behavioral, electrophysiological, and neuroimaging techniques, this program has the potential to have a major impact on our understanding of brain function. Previous work by my group has already led to significant discoveries and expanded knowledge on the functions of the insula. The Discovery Grants from the NSERC would provide the funds necessary to take this research to a next level.**

脑岛是大脑中最不为人所知的区域之一，主要是因为它的位置：在脑裂的深处，这使得它比其他皮层结构更不容易接近，也更不容易受到孤立的伤害。长期以来，岛叶皮层仅被视为一种原始的内脏脑结构，随着功能神经成像技术的出现，岛叶皮层在过去几十年里获得了极大的兴趣，这些技术揭示了岛叶对各种刺激和范式的反应。与脑岛相关的功能域包括多感觉和疼痛处理、情绪体验、共情和社会认知、动机和决策。然而，脑岛在这些功能中的具体作用仍不确定。在过去的10年里，我的团队已经认识到岛叶皮质可能是癫痫发作的一个焦点，并且在我们的癫痫中心已经对30多名难治性癫痫患者进行了岛叶切除术。我们还定期使用颅内电极对脑岛进行直接探测，以便在非侵入性技术无法实现的情况下更好地描绘癫痫区，从而可以研究脑岛对各种类型刺激和任务的反应，具有非常高的时间和空间分辨率。接近这一人群为我们提供了一个前所未有的机会来研究人类岛叶皮层的功能。本研究的目的是利用行为、电生理和神经成像技术对孤立性脑岛损伤患者和健康参与者的研究，更好地了解人类脑岛在感觉和情绪处理中的作用。提高我们对一个长期被忽视的大脑区域的理解是属于自然科学的一个基本问题。这个项目的重点是一个单一的结构，脑岛，它涉及到各种功能。通过使用最先进的行为、电生理和神经成像技术，专注于大脑皮层的一个研究最少的区域，这个项目有可能对我们对大脑功能的理解产生重大影响。我的团队之前的工作已经带来了重大的发现，并扩大了对脑岛功能的认识。国家科学研究委员会的发现补助金将提供必要的资金，使这项研究达到一个新的水平