Joanes Grandjean

The triple-network model is a contemporary theoretical framework derived by empirical neuroimaging data to explain a wide range of observations stemming from multiple psychopathologies. Central to the model are interactions between the salience, default-mode, and central executive networks, collective ensembles of distributed neuronal circuits interacti with one another. The insula area is a central node of the salience network and a major hub highlighted in several psychopathology. Using acute optogenetics photostimulation, we put in evidence the functional distribution of the salience network in mice. We expose the role of this network in positive valence mapping. Further, by using sustained optogenetic neuromodulation, we show that inhibition of the insular area mediates functional deactivation on several distributed neuronal networks, confirming the presence of a triple-network system in mice. Understanding the function of the insula cortex and how it is integrated into distributed networks offers avenues to understand the mechanisms behind several psychopathologies.