By measuring the mice’s brain activity, the researchers found that the insula became more active when the heart rate increased, particularly in a state of anxiety. The insula is a region associated with both emotions and the processing of bodily signals. The researchers deduce that the insula becomes l’intermediate between heart and brain in times of anxiety.
It integrates signals from the heart reacting to environmental threats and then transmits the information to the nervous system.
“The insula area is known to be involved in interoception, the ability to perceive internal states of the body, including heart rate, hunger, temperature, and pain“, explains the study.”The insular cortex receives all kinds of information from all over the body. It could therefore play a general role in a wide range ofemotional states“, says Dr. Karl Deisseroth, lead author of the study and a professor specializing in psychiatry and behavioral sciences, in the Press release.
This discovery could help rethink treatment methods against chronic anxiety disorders. The research team now intends to repeat this system to analyze the liens between the brain of man andother organssuch as the intestines or the muscles of the face.