The insular cortex is located between the temporal and parietal lobes. It is involved in processing emotions, tastes, motor skills, and social behavior. It comprises anterior and posterior regions. Studies have shown the insular cortex is activated during risky decision making, anxiety, interoception, motor control, homeostasis, and social emotions. One study found damage to the insular cortex resulted in a person's inability to distinguish tastes but still have preferences. Another study found insular cortex activity when viewing others in pain. A third study found romantic rejection activated reward and motivation areas, including the insular cortex, similarly to addiction. Dysfunctions of the insular cortex are associated with various mood and mental disorders.

1. Insular cortexBy ShuangShuangHu and Kyu Hwang

2. What is it?is located between the temporal lobe and parietal lobeis connected to the experience of emotions, the processing of tastes, the memory of procedures, the control of motor responses and interpersonal behaviour. negative emotions activate in this region.

3. The insular cortex comprises two main sections: the anterior and posterior regions AIC = the anterior insular cortexPIC= the posterior insular cortexTasks:Such as:-motor tasks-amygdale activation-social emotions-language-interceptive awarenessTasks:Such as:-time and decision making-is related more to auditory function*perform a primary role in the processing and memory of emotional reactions.

4. Functions:Risky decision makingAnxiety and neuroticismInteroceptive awarenessMotor controlHomeostasisSelfSocial emotionsEmotionsSalience

5. Study 1:Antonio Damasio’s“Choosing between the indistinguishable” study(2005)Aim: To determine, whether a person can have the preference for one taste over another without being able to distinguish between the two.Participants: Patient B, suffered from damage to the insular-cortex and a controlled patient (without damage to the insular-cortex)Procedure: Asked them to taste 38 drinks in succession (each drink was either a mixture of salt and water – “disgusting”, or sugar and water – “nice”), presented in random orders.Results:

6. Continuing…Procedure:Presented two drinks at a time: the salt drink and the sugar drink side by side.Patient B was asked to sip each and then to drink the one he preferred.On 19th trials, he chose the sugar drink.Findings:“The taste comparison likely provides patient B with an overt feeling that he would rather drink one solution than another, without any over knowledge of the taste experiences that would normally provide justification for this preference”

7. Study 2: Nicolas Danziger & colleagues“The empathic powers of those who can’t feel pain” study(2009) Aim: To see if patients with the inability to feel pain in real life can feel it vicariouslyParticipants:13 patients with the inability to feel pain13 healthy controlsProcedure:Participants had their brains scanned while they viewed videos of body parts being injured and people’s painful facial expressions.Results:Even though the patients had never felt pain themselves, the sight of other people’s pain triggered activity in the insular of their brains.Findings:Activity in insular cortex may reflect processing of the aversive emotional significance of what the patients were witnessing.Insular cortex is associated with psychological pain, induced by social exclusion or grief.

8. Study 3: Romantic Rejection Stimulates Areas of Brain Involved in Motivation, Reward and Addiction(2010)conducted by Fisher & Brown & othersAim: - to see if the pain of rejection by a romantic partner is related to brain activity associated with motivation, reward and addiction craving.Procedure: - researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) torecord brain activity in 15 college-age, men and women who had recently been rejected by their partners but reported that they were still in love. - participants were asked to take the Passionate Love Scale test. All participants scored high on the test. They said they spent more than 85% of their waking hours thinking of the person who rejected them.- participants viewed a photograph of their former partners. Then they completed a simple math exercise to distract them from their thoughts. Finally, they viewed a photograph of a familiar "neutral" person.

9. Results:While looking at the pictures of their formerpartners:It stimulated several key areas of the participants’ brains more than looking at photos of neutral people.The areas :- the ventral tegmental area -the nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex -the insular cortex and the anterior cingulate

10. Findings:romantic rejection is a specific form of addiction why the beloved is so difficult to give upwhy feelings related to romantic rejection can be hard to controla insight into extreme behaviors associated with rejectionthe pain of rejection by a romantic partner may be the result of activity in parts of the brain associated with motivation, reward and addiction cravings

11. Dysfunctions:Mood disordersPanic disordersPTSDObsessive-compulsive disordersEating disordersSchizophrenia

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