Abstract
The insula is an area which is located deep to the sylvian fissure. It is a part of the cortex which receives sensory stimuli from the thalamus, amygdala, and limbic system; and transmits the received input to the premotor cortex and ventral striatum with the several receptors and signaling mechanisms. The receptors which are NMDA, GABA, dopamine, opioid muscarinic and glutamate, are located in different parts of the insula. Intercellular transmission in the cortex is mediated by action potential. When the anterior insula is considered as a whole, it plays a role in the organization of many activities such as attention, vocalization and music, cognitive control, perceptual decision-making, self-recognition, time perception and emotional awareness.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Nieuwenhuys R. The insular cortex: a review. Prog Brain Res. 2012;195:123–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-53860-4.00007-6.
Tramo MJ, Loftus WC, Thomas CE, Green RL, Mott LA, Gazzaniga MS. Surface area of human cerebral cortex and its gross morphological subdivisions: in vivo measurements in monozygotic twins suggest differential hemisphere effects of genetic factors. J Cogn Neurosci. 1995;7(2):292–302. https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn.1995.7.2.292.
Yoshimuraa H, Kato N, Honjo M, Sugai T, Segami N, Onoda N. Age-dependent emergence of a parieto-insular corticocortical signal flow in developing rats. Brain Res Dev Brain Res. 2004;149(1):45–51.
Parkes SL, De la Cruz V, Bermúdez-Rattoni F, Coutureau E, Ferreira G. Differential role of insular cortex muscarinic and NMDA receptors in one-trial appetitive taste learning. Neurobiol Learn Mem. 2014;116:112–6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nlm.2014.09.008.
Ferrier J, Bayet-Robert M, Dalmann R, El Guerrab A, Aissouni Y, Graveron-Demilly D, et al. Cholinergic neurotransmission in the posterior insular cortex is altered in preclinical models of neuropathic pain: key role of muscarinic M2 receptors in donepezil-induced antinociception. J Neurosci. 2015;35(50):16438–0.
Gu X, Gao Z, Wang X, Liu X, Knight RT, Hof PR, et al. Anterior insular cortex is necessary for empathetic pain perception. Brain. 2012;135:2726–35. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/aws199.
Inaba Y, de Guzman P, Avoli M. NMDA receptor-mediated transmission contributes to network ‘hyperexcitability’ in the rat insular cortex. Eur J Neurosci. 2006;23(4):1071–6.
Rodríguez-Durán LF, Martínez-Moreno A, Escobar ML. Bidirectional modulation of taste aversion extinction by insular cortex LTP and LTD. Neurobiol Learn Mem. 2017;142:85–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nlm.2016.12.014.
Escobar ML, Alcocer I, Chao V. The NMDA receptor antagonist CPP impairs conditioned taste aversion and insular cortex long-term potentiation in vivo. Brain Res. 1998;812(1–2):246–51.
Rosenblum K, Berman DE, Hazvi S, Lamprecht R, Dudai Y. NMDA receptor and the tyrosine phosphorylation of its 2B subunit in taste learning in the rat insular cortex. J Neurosci. 1997;17(13):5129–35.
Alves FH, Crestani CC, Resstel LB, Correa FM. N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors in the insular cortex modulate baroreflex in unanesthetized rats. Auton Neurosci. 2009;147(1–2):56–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autneu.2008.12.015.
Cocker PJ, Lin MY, Barrus MM, Le Foll B, Winstanley CA. The agranular and granular insula differentially contribute to gambling-like behavior on a rat slot machine task: effects of inactivation and local infusion of a dopamine D4 agonist on reward expectancy. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2016;233(17):3135–47. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-016-4355-1.
Suhara T, Yasuno F, Sudo Y, Yamamoto M, Inoue M, Okubo Y, et al. Dopamine D2 receptors in the insular cortex and the personality trait of novelty seeking. Neuroimage. 2001;13(5):891–5.
Chou TS, Bucci LD, Krichmar JL. Learning touch preferences with a tactile robot using dopamine modulated STDP in a model of insular cortex. Front Neurorobot. 2015;9:6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbot.2015.00006.
Kutlu MG, Burke D, Slade S, Hall BJ, Rose JE, Levin ED. Role of insular cortex D1 and D2 dopamine receptors in nicotine self-administration in rats. Behav Brain Res. 2013;256:273–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2013.08.005.
Di Pietro NC, Mashhoon Y, Heaney C, Yager LM, Kantak KM. Role of dopamine D1 receptors in the prefrontal dorsal agranular insular cortex in mediating cocaine self-administration in rats. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2008;200(1):81–91. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-008-1149-0.
Pattij T, Schetters D, Schoffelmeer AN. Dopaminergic modulation of impulsive decision making in the rat insular cortex. Behav Brain Res. 2014;270:118–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2014.05.010.
Christopher L, Marras C, Duff-Canning S, Koshimori Y, Chen R, Boileau I, et al. Combined insular and striatal dopamine dysfunction are associated with executive deficits in Parkinson’s disease with mild cognitive impairment. Brain. 2014;137(Pt 2):565–75. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awt337.
Yokota E, Koyanagi Y, Yamamoto K, Oi Y, Koshikawa N, Kobayashi M. Opioid subtype- and cell-type-dependent regulation of inhıbitory synaptc transmission in the rat insular cortex. Neuroscience. 2016;339:478–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2016.10.004.
Yokota E, Koyanagi Y, Nakamura H, Horİnuki E, Oi Y, Kobayashi M. Opposite effects of mu and delta opioid receptor agonists on excitatory propagation induced in rat somatosensory and insular cortices by dental pulp stimulation. Neurosci Lett. 2016;628:52–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.2016.05.065.
Burkey AR, Carstens E, Wenniger JJ, Tang J, Jasmin L. An opioidergic corticalantinociception triggering site in the agranular insular cortex of the rat thatcontributes to morphine antinociception. J Neurosci. 1996;16(20):6612–23.
Chu Sin Chung P, Kieffer BL. Delta opioid receptors in brain function anddiseases. Pharmacol Ther. 2013;140(1):112–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pharmthera.2013.06.003.
Watson CJ. Insular balance of glutamatergic and GABAergic signaling modulates pain processing. Pain. 2016;157(10):2194–207. https://doi.org/10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000615.
Fujita S, Koshikawa N, Kobayashi M. GABA(B) receptors accentuate neural excitation contrast in rat insular cortex. Neuroscience. 2011;199:259–71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2011.09.043.
Mutschler I, Wieckhorst B, Kowalevski S, Derix J, Wentlandt J, Schulze-Bonhage A, et al. Functional organization of the human anterior insular cortex. Neurosci Lett. 2009;457(2):66–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.2009.03.101.
Frank S, Kullmann S, Veit R. Food related processes in the insular cortex. Front Hum Neurosci. 2013;7:499. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00499.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Aydın, H.E., Kaya, İ. (2018). Insular Pharmacology. In: Turgut, M., Yurttaş , C., Tubbs, R. (eds) Island of Reil (Insula) in the Human Brain. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75468-0_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75468-0_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-75467-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-75468-0
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)