Insular cortex neurons encode and retrieve specific immune responses.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Animal mechanistic research (mouse model)
PubMed 34752731 · doi:10.1016/j.cell.2021.10.013
What was done
Using activity-dependent cell labeling (FosTRAP) in mice, researchers labeled neuronal ensembles in the insular cortex activated during dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis and zymosan-induced peritonitis. They subsequently tested whether chemogenetic reactivation of these captured ensembles could retrieve the peripheral inflammatory states.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical values, sample sizes, or effect estimates. Chemogenetic reactivation of the labeled insular cortex ensembles was sufficient to broadly retrieve the specific inflammatory state under which the neurons were captured.
Why it matters
This study provides evidence that the mammalian insular cortex can store and retrieve specific peripheral immune responses, extending the concept of immunological memory to cortical neural representations.
Limits
The abstract provides no sample sizes, effect sizes, or quantitative data. The work is limited to preclinical mouse models of chemically induced acute inflammation and cannot directly establish whether similar neural representations occur in humans.
Cited by
- supports In a study by the Rolls lab, chemogenetically reactivating insular cortex neurons that fired during mouse colitis triggered the immune system to recreate inflammatory infiltration in the gut.
- supports The insular cortex can modulate and program peripheral organ immune states via the vagus nerve.