Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42525758›Full record

ArticleScience advances2026

Insular routing to orbitofrontal cortex enables breathing awareness.

Joshua Y Assi, Stephan Bickel, Harly E Greenberg, Ashesh D Mehta, Thomas Similowski, José L Herrero

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Science advances, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Joshua Y AssiDepartment of Bioelectronic Medicine, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY 11030, USA.ORCID 0009-0000-4924-4688
Stephan BickelDepartment of Bioelectronic Medicine, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY 11030, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-5265-2447
Harly E GreenbergDivision of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, Zucker School of Medicine, Northwell Health, New Hyde Park, NY 11040, USA.
Ashesh D MehtaDepartment of Bioelectronic Medicine, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY 11030, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-7293-1101
Thomas SimilowskiINSERM, UMRS1158 Neurophysiologie Respiratoire Expérimentale et Clinique, Sorbonne Université, Paris F-75005, France.ORCID 0000-0003-2868-9279
José L HerreroDepartment of Bioelectronic Medicine, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY 11030, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-5969-9678

Funding

Project 5: ComputationalP50MH109429 · NIMH · NATHAN S. KLINE INSTITUTE FOR PSYCH RES · PI Michael Peter Milham · 2017 to 2026
$25.3M
Characterizing the Sensory and Affective Neural Components of Persistent DyspneaR01HL163578 · NHLBI · FEINSTEIN INSTITUTE FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH · PI Jose Luis Herrero Rubio · 2022 to 2026
$2.1M
NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL163578NIMH NIH HHS P50 MH109429
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

How does the human brain detect and respond to disruptions in breathing? While animal studies have advanced our understanding of respiratory control, breathing distress in humans remains difficult to treat. It often arises not only from pulmonary lesions or brainstem dysfunction but also from how higher brain regions interpret breathing signals shaped by emotion and experience. We recorded intracranial cortical activity in neurosurgical patients during an interoceptive task involving transient breathing challenges. Conscious detection of these disruptions was predicted by early responses in the anterior insula, which routed signals to orbitofrontal and premotor cortices for appraisal and compensation. These cortical regions preferentially encoded inspiratory effort or airflow, revealing signal-specific processing that echoes functional segregation in brainstem centers. The present findings identify a dynamic insular-frontal circuit for sensing and adapting to respiratory challenges, offering insight into the neural basis of breathing awareness and its disruption in disease.

Indexed as

AwarenessInsular CortexPrefrontal CortexRespirationAdultBrain MappingFemaleHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMale

Identifiers

PMID42525758
PMCPMC13418533

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.