The study builds on previous research which has shown the insula is involved in the onset of mood disorders.

BBC: Mental health (generic)

It includes the amygdala, hippocampus, cingulated gyrus, orbital frontal cortex, and the insula.

FORBES: This Is Your Brain on Body Language

Although the TMS currently used for depression doesn't reach all brain regions, the new type may be able to affect the insula.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Earlier studies have found that insula size is positively correlated with empathy: that is, the bigger the insula, the more empathy one has.

FORBES: Kids With Behavior Problems Have Changes In The Brain

Activity was also elevated in the insula, a region that monitors one's emotional and physical state (it's also involved in disgust, shame and other strong negative emotions).

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

They discovered that when people are offered an unfair split, a primal part of their brains known as the anterior insula sends out signals of disgust and anger.

FORBES: Don't Make Romney's $10,000 Leadership Mistake

The scientists found that, even while healthy, those with a family history of depression had increased activity in the part of the brain that regulates mood, called the insula.

BBC: Mental health (generic)

As all three of those guys will tell you if you click on the links, Lindstrom tries to assert that because an area of the brain called the insula lit up when people were using their iPhones.

FORBES: No, You Don't Love Your iPhone In That Way

The reason for this, the UCLA life scientists found, seems to be that a brain region called the anterior insula, which is linked to disgust and is important for discerning untrustworthy faces, is less active in older adults.

FORBES: Why Older Folks Are Targeted for Fraud

Stanford University researchers have suggested that a lack of response to emotionally meaningful information in the insula, a brain region at the hub of the salience network, can lead to a cascade of effects that result in inappropriate emotional displays.

WSJ: When Social Skills Are a Warning