Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Jan 10:32:100277.
doi: 10.1016/j.scog.2022.100277. eCollection 2023 Jun.

The role of the insula in cognitive impairment of schizophrenia

Affiliations
Review

The role of the insula in cognitive impairment of schizophrenia

Susanna Gebhardt et al. Schizophr Res Cogn. .

Abstract

Cognitive impairment is one of the core clinical symptom domains of schizophrenia. Research shows that cognitive deficits in this neuropsychiatric syndrome is associated with neurodevelopmental pathology affecting multiple brain regions such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the hippocampus and the parietal lobe. The insula is a relatively small structure that is highly connected with several brain regions as well as multiple brain networks. A large number of studies have reported the involvement of the insula in many of the psychotic and nonpsychotic manifestations of schizophrenia. Here we review the role of the insula as a hub across key neurocircuits which have been implicated in the various cognitive pathologies in schizophrenia. Structural and functional abnormalities in the right and left insulae may serve as a biomarker for susceptibility to schizophrenia.

Keywords: Cognitive impairment; Insula; Neural circuits; Schizophrenia.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors, S.G. and H.N., have no competing interests to declare.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
PRISMA flow diagram From: Page MJ, McKenzie JE, Bossuyt PM, Boutron I, Hoffmann TC, Mulrow CD, et al. The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ 2021;372:n71. doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71 For more information, visit: http://www.prisma-statement.org/

References

    1. Alcauter S., Lin W., Keith Smith J., Gilmore J.H., Gao W. Consistent anterior–posterior segregation of the insula during the first 2 years of life. Cereb. Cortex. 2015;25:1176–1187. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Benarroch E.E. Insular cortex: functional complexity and clinical correlations. Neurology. 2019;93:932–938. - PubMed
    1. Boucher O., Rouleau I., Lassonde M., Lepore F., Bouthillier A., Nguyen D.K. Social information processing following resection of the insular cortex. Neuropsychologia. 2015;71:1–10. - PubMed
    1. Bowie C.R., Twamley E.W., Anderson H., Halpern B., Patterson T.L., Harvey P.D. Self-assessment of functional status in schizophrenia. J. Psychiatr. Res. 2007;41:1012–1018. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cloutman L.L., Binney R.J., Drakesmith M., Parker G.J., Ralph M.A.L. The variation of function across the human insula mirrors its patterns of structural connectivity: evidence from in vivo probabilistic tractography. NeuroImage. 2012;59:3514–3521. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources