Insular routing to orbitofrontal cortex enables breathing awareness.

ABSTRACT: How does the human brain detect and respond to disruptions in breathing? While animal studies have advanced our understanding of respiratory control, breathing distress in humans remains difficult to treat. It often arises not only from pulmonary lesions or brainstem dysfunction, but also from how higher brain regions interpret breathing signals shaped by emotion and experience. We recorded intracranial cortical activity in neurosurgical patients during an interoceptive task involving transient breathing challenges. Conscious detection of these disruptions was predicted by early responses in the anterior insula, which routed signals to orbitofrontal and premotor cortices for appraisal and compensation. These cortical regions preferentially encoded inspiratory effort or airflow, revealing s

SUBMITTER: Assi JY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12424870 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature