Insular cortex predictions regulate glucose homeostasis

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Physiology
• Metabolism

Background:

• Brain-body interactions are crucial for maintaining homeostasis.
• Interoceptive predictions are theorized to mediate brain-body communication.
• Direct evidence linking predictive processes to physiological regulation is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the causal role of interoceptive predictions in glucose homeostasis.
• To examine the function of the insular cortex in metabolic regulation.

Main Methods:

• Focused on the insular cortex and its role in glucose homeostasis.
• Monitored insular cortex activity before meal onset.
• Assessed the impact of insular cortex activity on insulin release and glucose/lipid metabolism.

Main Results:

• Insular cortex shows a predictive burst of activity before meals, anticipating metabolic state.
• This predictive activity is critical for anticipatory and post-meal insulin release.
• It also regulates post-meal glucose and lipid homeostasis and liver metabolic signaling.

Conclusions:

• Insular cortex predictive computations are essential for anticipatory physiological control.
• These predictions maintain metabolic homeostasis after meals.
• Highlights the brain's role in proactive regulation of bodily functions.