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Attention, Salience, and Self-Awareness: The Role of Insula in Meditation

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Book cover Island of Reil (Insula) in the Human Brain

Abstract

The insular cortex is implied in a great variety of cognitive functions and, for this reason, is probably one of the most studied brain regions in neuroscience. A consistent and increasing number of evidence are defining the role of the insula in meditation, which in recent years has become a hot topic of research in psychology, neuroscience, and medicine. In this chapter we intend to illustrate how the insula is involved in meditation. To this aim, we discuss the well-known and pivotal role of this brain region in attention, salience, and self-awareness, which are key cognitive processes for meditation practice. In virtue of these important functions, the insular cortex proves itself to be a key component of the neural correlates of meditation.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. GCS fMRI, Koelliker Hospital and University of Turin, Turin, Italy

    Jordi Manuello, Andrea Nani & Franco Cauda

  2. FOCUS Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy

    Jordi Manuello, Andrea Nani & Franco Cauda

  3. Neuroscience Institute of Turin, Turin, Italy

    Franco Cauda

Authors
  1. Jordi Manuello
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  2. Andrea Nani
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  3. Franco Cauda
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Correspondence to Andrea Nani .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Adnan Menderes University, School of Medicine , Aydın, Turkey

    Mehmet Turgut

  2. Ege University, Department of Anatomy, Izmir, Turkey

    Canan Yurttaş

  3. Seattle Science Foundation, Seattle, Washington, USA

    R. Shane Tubbs

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Manuello, J., Nani, A., Cauda, F. (2018). Attention, Salience, and Self-Awareness: The Role of Insula in Meditation. In: Turgut, M., Yurttaş , C., Tubbs, R. (eds) Island of Reil (Insula) in the Human Brain. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75468-0_25

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75468-0_25

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