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Breathlessness in humans activates insular cortex.

R B Banzett¹, H E Mulnier, K Murphy

¹Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.

|August 3, 2000

Summary

Dyspnea, or shortness of breath, is a common symptom of heart and lung disease. This study found that the insular cortex in the brain is activated when experiencing air hunger, a sensation related to dyspnea.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Respiratory Medicine
Cardiology

Background:

Dyspnea (shortness of breath) is a significant and debilitating symptom in cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases.
The neural mechanisms underlying the perception of dyspnea in the cerebral cortex remain largely unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the central neural structures involved in the perception of dyspnea.
To identify brain regions activated during the sensation of air hunger.

Main Methods:

Healthy subjects underwent a controlled ventilation challenge to induce a sensation of severe air hunger.
Arterial oxygen and carbon dioxide levels were maintained constant during the experiment.
Positron Emission Tomography (PET) was utilized to map brain activity.

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Main Results:

PET imaging revealed significant activation of the insular cortex during the induced air hunger sensation.
The insular cortex is a limbic structure known to process various visceral stimuli and sensations like pain and nausea.

Conclusions:

The insular cortex plays a crucial role in the central neural representation of dyspnea perception.
Understanding the neural basis of dyspnea may offer new insights into managing this symptom in patients with heart and lung diseases.