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Published on: August 22, 2025
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Vestibular and visual responses in human posterior insular cortex.
Sebastian M Frank1, Oliver Baumann2, Jason B Mattingley2
1Institute for Experimental Psychology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany; Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire; and.
Journal of Neurophysiology
|September 5, 2014
Summary
The posterior insular cortex (PIC) responds to both visual motion and vestibular stimuli, suggesting its role in integrating sensory information for self-motion perception. This finding expands our understanding of the human cortical vestibular network.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Vestibular System
- Sensory Integration
Background:
- The posterior lateral sulcus is a potential hub for the human cortical vestibular network.
- Posterior insular cortex (PIC) is known to respond to visual motion, but its role in vestibular processing is unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether the posterior insular cortex (PIC) responds to vestibular stimuli.
- To determine if PIC is part of the cortical vestibular network involved in self-motion perception.
Main Methods:
- Localized PIC using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with visual motion stimulation.
- Utilized an MRI-compatible caloric stimulation device for bithermal and warm temperature vestibular stimulation.
- Participants reported self-motion sensations during stimulation with minimal visual input.
Main Results:
- PIC demonstrated activation during self-motion perception under vestibular stimulation with minimal visual input.
- PIC activation patterns were similar for congruent and incongruent visual-vestibular stimulation conditions.
- Results indicate PIC responds to both visual motion and vestibular stimuli.
Conclusions:
- The posterior insular cortex (PIC) processes both visual and vestibular information.
- PIC is likely a component of the cortical vestibular network.
- PIC plays a role in integrating visual and vestibular stimuli for the perception of self-motion.
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