Insula

The insular cortex (also insula and insular lobe) is a portion of the cerebral cortex folded deep within the lateral sulcus (the fissure separating the temporal lobe from the parietal and frontal lobes) within each hemisphere of the mammalian brain.

The insulae are believed to be involved in consciousness and play a role in diverse functions usually linked to emotion, interoception, or the regulation of the body's homeostasis. These functions include compassion, empathy, taste, perception, motor control, self-awareness, cognitive functioning, interpersonal relationships, and awareness of homeostatic emotions such as hunger, pain and fatigue. In relation to these, it is involved in psychopathology.