Functional connectivity of right insula during self-face processing

Abstract

Objective:  Insula plays a role in a wide spectrum of self-relevant processing including interoceptive awareness, personal familiarity and empathy. In this study, we examined the functional connectivity of insula during processing of ones own face compared to personally familiar faces to understand the functional role of insula in “self†specific processing. 

 

Methods : A functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging  analysis was performed on  data collected from 10 healthy young women during the presentation of three sets of facial pictures: self face,  personally familiar faces (mother and close, non-sexual female friend), and age and sex matched  two strangers (younger and older female) while performing three tasks : passive viewing, salience and emotional evaluation. Based on a prior categorical subtraction analysis, right anterior insula (AI) was used as a seed for correlational analysis to investigate the differential functional connectivity of right AI during processing of self face versus other faces.

 

Results:  During self face processing, the right AI showed positive correlation with left AI/ inferior frontal, putamen, bilateral temporal and left lateral prefrontal and anterior cingulate regions, whereas during personally familiar face processing, it showed positive correlation with bilateral inferior parietal, right anterior cingulate and to a lesser degree to the left AI/ inferior frontal areas.

 

Discussion: Self-face specific processing preferentially involves functional connectivity of right AI to brain regions implicated in self awareness, emotional responses and familiarity feelings (left AI, putamen, superior temporal lobes). This suggests that the emotional aspect of self experience is crucial to distinguish self from personally familiar others.