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Role of the anterior insula in task-level control and focal attention.

ABSTRACT: In humans, the anterior insula (aI) has been the topic of considerable research and ascribed a vast number of functional properties by way of neuroimaging and lesion studies. Here, we argue that the aI, at least in part, plays a role in domain-general attentional control and highlight studies (Dosenbach et al. 2006; Dosenbach et al. 2007) supporting this view. Additionally, we discuss a study (Ploran et al. 2007) that implicates aI in processes related to the capture of focal attention. Task-level control and focal attention may or may not reflect information processing supported by a single functional area (within the aI). Therefore, we apply a novel technique (Cohen et al. 2008) that utilizes resting state functional connectivity MRI (rs-fcMRI) to determine whether separable regions exist within the aI. rs-fcMRI mapping suggests that the ventral portion of the aI is distinguishable from more dorsal/anterior regions, which are themselves distinct from more posterior parts of the aI. When these regions are applied to functional MRI (fMRI) data, the ventral and dorsal/anterior regions support processes potentially related to both task-level control and focal attention, whereas the more posterior aI regions did not. These findings suggest that there exists some functional heterogeneity within aI that may subserve related but distinct types of higher-order cognitive processing.

SUBMITTER: Nelson SM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2886908 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Role of the anterior insula in task-level control and focal attention.

Nelson Steven M SM Dosenbach Nico U F NU Cohen Alexander L AL Wheeler Mark E ME Schlaggar Bradley L BL Petersen Steven E SE

Brain structure & function 20100529 5-6

In humans, the anterior insula (aI) has been the topic of considerable research and ascribed a vast number of functional properties by way of neuroimaging and lesion studies. Here, we argue that the aI, at least in part, plays a role in domain-general attentional control and highlight studies (Dosenbach et al. 2006; Dosenbach et al. 2007) supporting this view. Additionally, we discuss a study (Ploran et al. 2007) that implicates aI in processes related to the capture of focal attention. Task-lev ...[more]

PMID: 20512372

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Project description:The emergence of flow is a situation of high salience because externally oriented attention on the task and access to resources for goal-directed behavior are enhanced, while internally oriented or self-related cognition is decreased. The right anterior insula has been reported as a causal out-flow hub of the salience resting-state network, orchestrating the engagement of the central executive network (CEN) and the disengagement of the default-mode network (DMN) during a functional challenge. In the present study, we employed a combined task-based activation and connectivity analysis to investigate the role of the right anterior insula during the emergence of flow. A sample of 41 healthy male subjects was confronted with a functional challenge that permitted the emergence of flow during BOLD-based functional magnetic resonance imaging. Comparing connectivity changes in the right anterior insula during the flow condition against connectivity changes associated with control conditions of boredom and overload, relatively increased couplings were observed with the left and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Activation data for these regions did, however, not show the flow-typical inverted U-shaped (invU) response pattern. Relatively decreased functional couplings encompassed ventral aspects of the striatum, but neither the amygdala nor the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC). For the ventral striatum, activation data were consistent with the flow-typical U-shaped activation pattern, which supports the notion that under the high salience of autotelic situations, the anterior insula is much less positively coupled with the ventral striatum than under boundary conditions of boredom and overload. Taken together, present functional connectivity results were in alignment with the assumed role of the right anterior insula under conditions of different salience. However, this particular region does not appear to mediate the most typical flow-associated activation patterns.

Dataset Information

Role of the anterior insula in task-level control and focal attention.

Publications

Role of the anterior insula in task-level control and focal attention.

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