有一种神经通道可感觉来自我们身体内部的刺激如心脏跳动等。如今，研究人员在一位大脑损伤模式特别的患者体内鉴别出这种神经通道，新成果发表在日前在线出版的《自然―神经科学》期刊上。
以前对大脑图像的研究指出，大脑区域中的一个神经网络对感觉来自体内的刺激如心脏跳动等非常重要。两个受到关注的区域分别是岛皮层和前扣带皮质层；岛皮层是大脑深处负责控制动态平衡的一个区域，前扣带皮质层是大脑中调控自动功能或血压和心率 的区域。大脑中的这些区域均与情绪控制和其他认知功能有关。
Sahib Khalsa和同事报告说，在给予药物以增加其心率时，一位岛皮层和前扣带皮质层受伤的患者令人吃惊地感觉到了自己的心跳。然而，当在他的胸部实施典型的麻醉时，这位患者再没感觉到心率的变化。
这项研究推测，刺激皮肤活动的神经结构能够彼此独立监测感知心脏跳动的自我意识，而且，岛皮层和前扣带皮质层并不一定涉及这种类型的自我意识。
推荐原始出处：
Nature Neuroscience 12, 1494 - 1496 (2009) 1 November 2009 | doi:10.1038/nn.2411
The pathways of interoceptive awareness
Sahib S Khalsa1,2,4, David Rudrauf1,4, Justin S Feinstein3 " Daniel Tranel1,3
A network of cortical brain regions, including the insula and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), has been proposed as the critical and sole substrate for interoceptive awareness. Combining lesion and pharmacological approaches in humans, we found that the insula and ACC were not critical for awareness of heartbeat sensations. Instead, this awareness was mediated by both somatosensory afferents from the skin and a network that included the insula and ACC. Together, these pathways enable the core human experience of the cardiovascular state of the body.
1 Department of Neurology and Neuroscience Program, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA.
2 Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA.
3 Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA.
4 These authors contributed equally to this work.
