Anticipation of emotionally aversive visual stimuli activates right insula

Abstract

Understanding the neural substrates of anticipation is required for a comprehensive model of the ways in which anxiety influences information processing. While it is apparent that the insula and medial frontal cortex are involved in processing anticipation of physical (i.e., painful) stimuli, their role in processing anticipation of aversive affective stimuli has yet to be determined. Twenty-eight healthy non-phobic volunteers observed aversive affective images (spiders and snakes) that were preceded by an auditory signal. The insula, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and parahippocampal gyrus activated during anticipation of aversive affective images. These findings indicate that common neural circuitry is involved in the anticipation of (and, perhaps, the subjective experience of anticipating) aversive affective and noxious physical stimuli.