Convergent gustatory and viscerosensory processing in the human dorsal mid-insula.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Laboratory-based human neuroimaging cross-adaptation experiment (graded by design analogy for basic cognitive neuroscience)
PubMed 28070928 · doi:10.1002/hbm.23510
What was done
The authors used functional magnetic resonance imaging adaptation (fMRI-adaptation) in humans to examine whether visceral interoceptive signals and gustatory (taste) signals are integrated by shared neural populations. They tested whether insula subregions exhibiting repetition suppression following repeated interoception trials also exhibited adapted responses to subsequent gustatory stimuli.
What was found
No numerical results, sample sizes, or effect estimates are reported in the abstract. Qualitatively, multiple middle and anterior insula regions exhibited adaptation specifically to interoceptive trials, whereas only dorsal mid-insula regions exhibited cross-modal adapted gustatory responses following interoceptive trials.
Why it matters
This identifies the human dorsal mid-insula as a key site of convergence where visceral and taste signals integrate, supporting a neural mechanism for homeostatic modulation of feeding behavior.
Limits
The abstract does not state the sample size, participant demographics, statistical thresholds, or effect sizes. fMRI-adaptation is an indirect hemodynamic measure of neuronal tuning rather than direct cellular recording, and behavioral food intake was not directly measured.
Cited by
- supports The insular cortex receives sensory and interoceptive input from internal organs throughout the body, including the heart, liver, and kidneys.