A brain network model for the convergence of interoceptive, emotional, and social cognition processes

ADOLFI, FEDERICO; BLAS COUTO; RICHTER, FABIAN; JEAN DECETY; MARIANO SIGMAN; FACUNDO MANES; AGUSTÍN IBÁÑEZ

Congreso; Society for Social Neuroscience (S4SN)AnnualMeeting; 2015

Recent approaches propose that interoceptive signaling triggers the regulation of emotional processing and social cognition. These theories are fueled by indirect evidence that speaks of how these three systems might interact. Here we examined the brain signatures of the convergence of interoception, emotion recognition and social cognition processes. First, we performed 3 different meta-analyses of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) literature to identify the areas that are consistently and jointly activated by those domains. This is a way to quantify the scattered reports of the overlap in brain circuitry mediating these cognitive functions. We used Multi-level Kernel Density Analysis (MKDA) to identify two spots revealing a major overlap: the right anterior insular and frontotemporal regions (i.e., the orbitofrontal and inferior frontal gyrus, the amygdala and the mid temporal lobe/subcortical structures). We complemented this analysis with a specific examination of these three domains in a sample of patients with brain lesions involving bilateral fronto-insulo-temporal damage. Results showed impaired behavioral performance on interoceptive, emotional and social cognitive domains compared with healthy controls, with preservation of other cognitive functions. The findings from the lesion study and the meta-analysis converged to directly support a model of insular-frontotemporal networks integrating interoception, emotion and social cognition.[Grants from CONICYT/FONDECYT Regular (1130920/1140114); PICT (2012-0412/2012-1309), CONICET, and the INECO Foundation]