Intuition and autism: a possible role for Von Economo neurons

Allman, John M.; Watson, Karli; Tetreault, Nicole A.; Hakeem, Atiya Y.

doi:10.1016/j.tics.2005.06.008

Cited by 425 publications

(408 citation statements)

References 46 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

386

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The presence of NMB, GRP, and the serotonin 2b receptor, which are rare in the cortex, but very common in the viscera, suggests an extension of the concept that FI and ACC are monitoring the activity in the gut (Allman et al 2005). Possibly the expression of NMB, GRP, and the serotonin 2b receptors in the VENs represents a transposition of this activity from the gut to the cortex, as components of a neural model of how the gut would react under given circumstances.…”

Section: Nmb Expression In the Vensmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Possibly the expression of NMB, GRP, and the serotonin 2b receptors in the VENs represents a transposition of this activity from the gut to the cortex, as components of a neural model of how the gut would react under given circumstances. Such a model would enable the organism to react more quickly to changing conditions than if it depended solely on monitoring sensations arising from the gut itself (Allman et al 2005). Disruption of this feedback could also underlie the recently recognized role of the insula in the feelings of craving associated with addiction to food or drugs (Naqvi and Bechara 2009).…”

Section: Nmb Expression In the Vensmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…DISC1 is expressed selectively on the soma and dendrites of the VENs and may be related to their distinctive dendritic architecture. The recent evolutionary changes associated with the VENs and DISC1 may carry increased vulnerabilities to dysfunction which may manifest in several neuropsychiatric disorders (Allman et al 2005;Crespi et al 2007;Seeley et al 2006;Seeley 2008;Kaufman et al 2008;van Kooten 2008;Simms et al 2009;Williamson and Allman in press). Further investigation of gene expression in the VENs could provide insights into the dysfunctions in neuropsychiatric illnesses and also into the recent VEN evolution.…”

Section: Disc1 Expression In the Vensmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…More recent work from the same group has identified several components of this activity, including one in inferior anterior insula particularly on the right side (Nelson et al 2010). Allman et al (2005) proposed that the VENs and related circuitry are involved in rapid intuition, which like perceptual recognition involves immediate effortless awareness rather than the engagement of deliberative processes. Recently, Aziz-Zadeh et al (2009) found that when subjects solving anagrams arrived at rapid insightful solutions (''aha'' moments) both anterior insula and anterior cingulate cortex were activated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are many features of autism that suggest that the VENs may be involved in this disorder (Allman et al 2005;van Kooten 2008). An initial stereological study of the numbers of VENs in area FI of four autistic subjects plus controls did not confirm this conjecture (Kennedy et al 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

The von Economo neurons in frontoinsular and anterior cingulate cortex in great apes and humans

et al. 2010

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The von Economo neurons (VENs) are large bipolar neurons located in frontoinsular (FI) and anterior cingulate cortex in great apes and humans, but not other primates. We performed stereological counts of the VENs in FI and LA (limbic anterior, a component of anterior cingulate cortex) in great apes and in humans. The VENs are more numerous in humans than in apes, although one gorilla approached the lower end of the human range. We also examined the ontological development of the VENs in FI and LA in humans. The VENs first appear in small numbers in the 36th week post-conception, are rare at birth, and increase in number during the first 8 months after birth. There are significantly more VENs in the right hemisphere than in the left in FI and LA in postnatal brains of apes and humans. This asymmetry in VEN numbers may be related to asymmetries in the autonomic nervous system. The activity of the inferior anterior insula, which contains FI, is related to physiological changes in the body, decisionmaking, error recognition, and awareness. The VENs appear to be projection neurons, although their targets are unknown. We made a preliminary study of the connections of FI cortex based on diffusion tensor imaging in the brain of a gorilla. The VEN-containing regions connect to the frontal pole as well as to other parts of frontal and insular cortex, the septum, and the amygdala. It is likely that the VENs in FI are projecting to some or all of these structures and relaying information related to autonomic control, decision-making, or awareness. The VENs selectively express the bombesin peptides neuromedin B (NMB) and gastrin releasing peptide (GRP) which are also expressed in another population of closely related neurons, the fork cells. NMB and GRP signal satiety. The genes for NMB and GRP are expressed selectively in small populations of neurons in the insular cortex in mice. These populations may be related to the VEN and fork cells and may be involved in the regulation of appetite. The loss of these cells may be related to the loss of satiety signaling in patients with frontotemporal dementia who have damage to FI. The VENs and fork cells may be morphological specializations of an ancient population of neurons involved in the control of appetite present in the insular cortex in all mammals. We found that the protein encoded by the gene DISC1 (disrupted in schizophrenia) is preferentially expressed by the VENs. DISC1 has undergone rapid evolutionary change in the line leading to humans, and since it suppresses dendritic branching it may be involved in the distinctive VEN morphology.

show abstract

Section: Nmb Expression In the Vensmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Nmb Expression In the Vensmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Disc1 Expression In the Vensmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

The von Economo neurons in frontoinsular and anterior cingulate cortex in great apes and humans

et al. 2010

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Neuroanatomical Differences in Toddler Boys With Fragile X Syndrome and Idiopathic Autism

Hoeft¹,

Walter²,

Lightbody³

et al. 2011

Arch Gen Psychiatry

109

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Context Autism is an etiologically heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder for which there is no known unifying etiology or pathogenesis. Many conditions of atypical development can lead to autism, including fragile X syndrome (FXS), which is presently the most common known single gene cause of autism. Objective To examine whole-brain morphometric patterns that discriminate young boys with FXS from those with idiopathic autism (iAUT), as well as control participants. Design Cross sectional, in-vivo neuroimaging study. Setting Academic medical centers. Patients Young boys (n=165, 1.57-4.15 years) diagnosed as FXS or iAUT as well as typically developing (TD) and idiopathic developmentally delayed (DD) controls. Main Outcome measures Univariate voxel-based morphometric (VBM) analyses, VBM multivariate pattern classification (linear support vector machine) and clustering analyses (self organizing map). Results We found that frontal and temporal grey and white matter regions often implicated in social cognition, including the medial prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, superior temporal region, temporal pole, amygdala, insula, and dorsal cingulum, were aberrant in FXS and iAUT as compared to controls. However, these differences were in opposite directions for FXS and iAUT relative to controls; in general, greater volume was seen in iAUT compared to controls, who in turn had greater volume than FXS. Multivariate analysis showed that the overall pattern of brain structure in iAUT generally resembled that of the controls more than FXS, both with and without AUT (FXS+A, FXS-A, respectively). Conclusions Our findings demonstrate that FXS and iAUT are associated with distinct neuroanatomical patterns, and further underscores the neurobiological heterogeneity of iAUT.

show abstract

Frontal Paralimbic Network Atrophy in Very Mild Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia

Seeley¹,

Crawford²,

Rascovsky³

et al. 2008

Arch Neurol

465

386

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) strikes hardest at the frontal lobes, but the sites of earliest injury remain unclear.Objective: To determine atrophy patterns in distinct clinical stages of bvFTD, testing the hypothesis that the mildest stage is restricted to frontal paralimbic cortex.Design: A bvFTD cohort study.Setting: University hospital dementia clinic.Participants: Patients with bvFTD with Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale scores of 0.5 (n=15), 1 (n=15), or 2 to 3 (n=15) age and sex matched to each other and to 45 healthy controls.Main Outcome Measures: Magnetic resonance voxel-based morphometry estimated gray matter and white matter atrophy at each disease stage compared with controls.Results: Patients with a CDR score of 0.5 had gray matter loss in frontal paralimbic cortices, but atrophy also involved a network of anterior cortical and subcortical regions. A CDR score of 1 showed more extensive frontal gray matter atrophy and white matter losses in corpus callosum and brainstem. A CDR score of 2 to 3 showed additional posterior insula, hippocampus, and parietal involvement, with white matter atrophy in presumed frontal projection fibers.Conclusions: Very mild bvFTD targets a specific subset of frontal and insular regions. More advanced disease affects white matter and posterior gray matter structures densely interconnected with the sites of earliest injury.

show abstract

Intuition and autism: a possible role for Von Economo neurons

Cited by 425 publications

References 46 publications

The von Economo neurons in frontoinsular and anterior cingulate cortex in great apes and humans

The von Economo neurons in frontoinsular and anterior cingulate cortex in great apes and humans

Neuroanatomical Differences in Toddler Boys With Fragile X Syndrome and Idiopathic Autism

Frontal Paralimbic Network Atrophy in Very Mild Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About