The Role of the Insular Cortex in Retaliation - PubMed (original) (raw)

The Role of the Insular Cortex in Retaliation

Franziska Emmerling et al. PLoS One. 2016.

Abstract

The insular cortex has consistently been associated with various aspects of emotion regulation and social interaction, including anger processing and overt aggression. Aggression research distinguishes proactive or instrumental aggression from retaliation, i.e. aggression in response to provocation. Here, we investigated the specific role of the insular cortex during retaliation, employing a controlled behavioral aggression paradigm implementing different levels of provocation. Fifteen healthy male volunteers underwent whole brain functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to identify brain regions involved in interaction with either a provoking or a non-provoking opponent. FMRI group analyses were complemented by examining the parametric modulations of brain activity related to the individual level of displayed aggression. These analyses identified a hemispheric lateralization as well as an anatomical segregation of insular cortex with specifically the left posterior part being involved in retaliation. The left-lateralization of insular activity during retaliation is in accordance with evidence from electro-physiological studies, suggesting left-lateralized fronto-cortical dominance during anger processing and aggressive acts. The posterior localization of insular activity, on the other hand, suggests a spatial segregation within insular cortex with particularly the posterior part being involved in the processing of emotions that trigger intense bodily sensations and immediate action tendencies.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1

Fig 1. Taylor Aggression Paradigm (TAP).

Adapted from Dambacher et al., 2014 [8]. During the decision phase, participants were presented with a screen that informed them against whom they were playing in this trial (in this case “Tim”) and asked to choose the feedback noise level that should be administered to this opponent in case the opponent lost (“12345678”). During the outcome phase, participants were informed on whether or not they won and what feedback noise level the particular opponent had chosen for this trial.

Fig 2

Fig 2. Random effects group analyses.

Neural activation for the specified contrasts containing significant activation during the decision phase (A) and the outcome phase (B, C) of the Taylor Aggression Paradigm. Statistical Maps: N = 15, p < .001, Cluster Threshold level corrected, radiological convention.

Fig 3

Fig 3. Parametric modulations.

Regions modulating their activity parametrically according to the displayed behavior, when interacting with both (blue), the provoking (red), or the non-provoking opponent (green) during the Taylor Aggression Paradigm. Statistical Maps: N = 15, p < .01, Cluster Threshold level corrected, radiological convention.

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