An Insular View of the Social Decision-Making Network

Publication date: Available online 10 June 2019Source: Neuroscience & Biobehavioral ReviewsAuthor(s): Morgan M. Rogers-Carter, John P. ChristiansonAbstractSocial animals must detect, evaluate and respond to the emotional states of other individuals in their group. A constellation of gestures, vocalizations, and chemosignals enable animals to convey affect and arousal to others in nuanced, multisensory ways. Observers integrate social information with environmental and internal factors to select behavioral responses to others via a process call social decision-making. The Social Decision Making Network (SDMN) is a system of brain structures and neurochemicals that are conserved across species (mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds) that are the proximal mediators of most social behaviors. However, how sensory information reaches the SDMN to shape behavioral responses during a social encounter is not well known. Here we review the empirical data that demonstrate the necessity of sensory systems in detecting social stimuli, as well as the anatomical connectivity of sensory systems with each node of the SDMN. We conclude that the insular cortex is positioned to link integrated social sensory cues to this network to produce flexible and appropriate behavioral responses to socioemotional cues.Graphical abstractInsular cortex is anatomically positioned to integrate and convey socioemotional cues from the external environment to the social decision-making network, which generates flex...
Source: Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews - Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research