A Common Anterior Insula Representation of Disgust Observation, Experience and Imagination Shows Divergent Functional Connectivity Pathways

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0002939
• Publication Date: 2008-08-12T21:11:00Z
• Authors: Mbemba Jabbi; Jojanneke Bastiaa...; Christian Keysers
• Keywords: Disgust; Modality (human–computer interaction)

Similar brain regions are involved when we imagine, observe and execute an action. Is the same true for emotions? Here, subjects were scanned while they (a) experience, (b) view someone else experiencing (c) imagine gustatory emotions (through script-driven imagery). Capitalizing on fact that disgust is repeatedly inducible within scanner environment, participants actors taste content of a cup look disgusted tasted unpleasant bitter liquids to induce disgust, read scenarios involving their neutral counterparts. To reduce habituation, inter-mixed trials positive in all three scanning experiments. We found voxels anterior Insula adjacent frontal operculum be modalities suggesting simulation context social perception mental imagery share common neural substrates. Using effective connectivity, this shared region however was embedded distinct functional circuits during modalities, why observing, imagining emotion feels so different.