The insula
Insula · insula
A hidden fold of brain tucked deep inside the side of each hemisphere that senses your body's inner state.
What it does
The insula is a region of cortex folded away inside the deep groove on the side of the brain. It reads signals from inside the body, such as heartbeat, hunger, pain and a full bladder, and turns them into feelings. It also helps with taste and with emotions such as disgust.
Surprising fact
People who are especially good at sensing their own heartbeat tend to have a more active insula, and it lights up in brain scans when people feel disgust.
Why it matters
It shapes how you feel your body from the inside, so it is studied in anxiety, addiction and chronic pain, where those signals can be misread.
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Open in the 3D atlas · Suggest a correction · Not medical advice.
3D models: Z-Anatomy & BodyParts3D (CC BY-SA 4.0 / 2.1 JP). Card text CC BY 4.0.