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Senses matter: Senses protect integrity, connection and coherence
Published in Johanna Lynch, A Whole Person Approach to Wellbeing, 2020
There is a growing literature around the integrative role of the part of the brain called the insula in appraising internal and external sensory information (including emotion) (Nguyen et al. 2016, Simmons et al. 2013), in interpreting the salience or meaning of that sensation (Wiech et al. 2010) and in mediating awareness (Craig and Craig 2009). The insula has been described as being able to ‘integrate perceptions, emotions, thoughts and plans into one subjective image of “our world”’ (Kurth et al. 2010, 519). It has been described as offering ‘functional organisation and functional connectivity’ (Simmons et al. 2013) and has also been mapped to have olfacto-gustatory, cognitive, sensorimotor and social-emotional regions that are distinct and overlap (Kurth et al. 2010). This research adds to the importance of attending to the ‘sense of’ experiences of both practitioner and person in distress.
Introducing the sensory systems and interoception
Published in Chia Swee Hong, Heidi Rumford, Alex Cole, Sensory Motor Activities for Early Development, 2020
Chia Swee Hong, Heidi Rumford, Alex Cole
Neuroimaging research has found activation on parts of the insula when a range of emotions – anger, fear, happiness, sadness, disgust and lust – are experienced (Craig 2018). Therefore, the insula plays a pivotal role in our perception of our emotions and the ability to regulate them. When we hear people describe how they are feeling, they often link their emotions to bodily sensations –butterflies in the tummy when nervous, or a lump in throat when sad. Critchley and Garfinkel (2017) suggested that this word choice may relate to where the emotional arousal signal is felt in the body for that person. Increased interoceptive awareness has been shown to improve emotional regulation abilities (Price and Hooven 2018).
Innervation of Fascia
Published in David Lesondak, Angeli Maun Akey, Fascia, Function, and Medical Applications, 2020
Free nerve endings in fascial tissues are sometimes associated with an interoceptive function. Their stimulation then provides the brain with information about the condition of the body in its constant search for physiological homeostasis. A large quantity of interoceptive free nerve endings are located in visceral connective tissues and constitute an important part of what is frequently referred to as the enteric brain. However, other interoceptive interstitial neurons are located within musculoskeletal connective tissues, such as the endomysium or perimysium. Interoceptive signaling is associated with feelings like warmth, hunger, thirst, nausea, muscular effort, soreness, and heaviness or lightness as well as a sense of belonging or alienation regarding specific body regions, etc.21 The upstream neural pathway from interoceptive nerve endings does not follow the usual afferent pathways toward the somatosensory cortex of the brain. Instead, they project to the insular cortex inside the forebrain. In this cortical area, sensations related to internal somatic sensations are associated with emotional preferences and affective attitudes. As described by Damasio,22 patients with disturbed functioning of the insula may still have full biomechanical functioning and achieve high IQ levels in respective tests; however, they usually tend to be socially dysfunctional and are unable to make reasonable decisions in complex situations.
Altered brain activity and functional connectivity in migraine without aura during and outside attack
Published in Neurological Research, 2023
Luping Zhang, Wenjing Yu, Zhengxiang Zhang, Maosheng Xu, Feng Cui, Wenwen Song, Zhijian Cao
Compared with HC, the MWoA-DI patients showed increased ALFF with peaks in the right rolandic operculum extending to the insular but decreased with peaks in the right cuneus and extent to the right calcarine gyrus. The rolandic operculum is part of the secondary somatosensory cortex (S2). The insula is a brain region that integrates sensory and affective information. The S2 and insula belong to the pain matrix and are involved in the perception and processing of pain. The S2 and insula are activated by noxious stimulation and code pain intensity [21–24]. These two regions may take part in defense and analgesic effects. S2 stimulation can cause impaired judgments of pain intensity and reduced perceived pain intensity [25]. In other words, increased pain thresholds produce analgesia. Activation of the insula is associated with the analgesic effect produced by acupuncture [26]. Taken together, our study showed that the rolandic operculum (S2) and insula were activated in MWoA-DI patients and may reflect the defense or self-protection during the pain-free phase. A related study also revealed an increase in ALFF in S2 and insula in MWoA-DI patients relative to HC, and these changes were thought to represent an adaptive response to repeated migraine attacks in these patients [27]. However, the ALFF value in the right rolandic operculum was negatively correlated with the disease duration in MWoA-DA patients. The correlation results suggest that this defense effect disappears during the attack and weakens with disease duration.
Recognition of Facial Expressions of Emotion and Depressive Symptoms among Caregivers with Different Levels of Empathy
Published in Clinical Gerontologist, 2022
Madson Alan Maximiano-Barreto, Ana Julia de Lima Bomfim, Marina Miranda Borges, Amanda Barros de Moura, Bruna Moretti Luchesi, Marcos Hortes Nisihara Chagas
From the biological standpoint, there are no studies that directly describe the association between empathy and the recognition of the expression of sadness. However, there is evidence that structures such as the anterior insula, orbitofrontal cortex, and amygdala are related to the recognition of emotions (Phillips et al., 2003). Specifically, the activation of the amygdala has been observed during the recognition of sadness (Goldin et al., 2005). Empathy, especially in its affective domain, appears to activate the same region of the brain (Decety & Jackson, 2004). The insula is another activated brain structure in empathetic individuals (Rizzolatti & Craighero, 2004) and those who experience sadness (Esperidião-Antonio et al., 2008). Therefore, a possible hypothesis for the association between these variables would be the activation of the amygdala and insula in both cases.
Grey matter volume abnormalities in the first depressive episode of medication-naïve adult individuals: a systematic review of voxel based morphometric studies
Published in International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice, 2021
Meysam Amidfar, João Quevedo, Gislaine Z. Réus, Yong-Ku Kim
Volume reduction of the insular lobe in MDD patients has been demonstrated by many previous VBM studies (Peng et al. 2011; Sprengelmeyer et al. 2011; Bora et al. 2012). First-episode medication-naïve MDD patients showed significant GMV reductions in the left insula (Lai and Wu 2014). Furthermore, first-episode, drug naïve MDD patients showed decreased GMV in left insula compared to healthy subjects (Qi et al. 2018). It has suggested that atrophy of the insula in the MDD might be associated with the acute state of MDD, but not the effects caused by antidepressant treatments or the illness chronicity of MDD (Igata et al. 2017). In addition, it has demonstrated that subjects with MDD and those at high risk for MDD compared with the control group exhibited significantly decreased regional homogeneity in the right insula suggesting functional disconnectivity during the resting state in the insula may play an important role in the pathophysiology of MDD (Liu et al. 2010).