CEREBRAL CORTEX, vol.19, no.1, pp.218-223, 2009 (SCI-Expanded)
The physiology of control and suppression of natural urges is not well understood. We used [O-15]H2O positron-emission tomography imaging to identify neural circuits involved in suppression of spontaneous blinking as a model of normal urges. Suppression of blinking was associated with prominent activation of bilateral insular-claustrum regions, right more than left; activation was also found in bilateral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), supplementary motor areas, and the face area of the primary motor cortex bilaterally. These results suggest a central role for the insula possibly together with ACC in suppression of blinking.