 Spinal Cord, Inc. (2020, December 3). Insular cortex. SpinalCord.com. https://www.spinalcord.com/insular-cortex. 

University of Georgia

The insular cortex is situated inside of the Sylvian fissure.  Research has implied that the insular cortex is linked to the perception of pain, basic emotions (such as joy, happiness, anger, and disgust), addiction and other conscious desires, interoceptive awareness, sense of self, and reading emotions and social cues.


Insular Cortex

Insular Cortex Reference

The structural differences in the insular cortex might relate to enhancements of body awareness in Vipassana (insight meditation) practitioners observed in behavioral, physiological, magnetoencephalographic, and functional neuroimaging research. Insula involvement in enhanced body awareness  may also be an explanation for the consistent findings of the changes in this region in meditation practitioners. Since problems with the perception of the body and the emotions engendered by introceptive symptoms are involved in depression and anxiety, a greater ability to accurately represent the body  may play a role in the emotional and clinical benefits that  apparently results from meditation.

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