Salience network

The salience network is primarily anchored at the anterior insula (AI) and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC). The node in the AI corresponds with the dorsal-anterior division distinguished in meta-analyses of task-positive network related neuroimaging studies. The AI and dACC are linked via a white matter tract along the uncinate fasciculus. Other regions of the network may include the inferior parietal cortex, right temporoparietal junction, and lateral prefrontal cortex.

The subcortical nodes have yet to be structurally linked to the AI and dACC, however both seed-based and resting-state studies have observed intrinsic connectivity of the cortical nodes, with subcortical nodes consisting of the sublenticular extended amygdala, the putamen, the ventral striatum, the dorsomedial thalamus, hypothalamus, and the substantia nigra/ventral tegmental area.{{cite book|last1=Menon|first1=V|last2=Toga|first2=A|title=Salience Network|date=2015|publisher=Elsevier|isbn=978-0-12-397316-0|pages=597–611}} The salience network is also distinguished by distinct cellular components, including von Economo neurons in the AI/dACC. Cortico-striatal-thalamic loop circuits contribute to the salience network.

File:Dorsal and ventral attention systems.jpg networks enables dynamic control of attention in relation to top-down goals and bottom-up sensory stimulation.{{cite journal |last1=Vossel |first1=S |last2=Geng |first2=JJ |last3=Fink |first3=GR |title=Dorsal and ventral attention systems: distinct neural circuits but collaborative roles. |journal=The Neuroscientist |date=April 2014 |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=150–9 |doi=10.1177/1073858413494269 |pmid=23835449 |pmc=4107817}}]]

While the function of the salience network is not exactly known, it has been implicated in the detection and integration of emotional and sensory stimuli,{{cite journal | last1 = Downar | first1 = J. | last2 = Crawley | first2 = A. P. | last3 = Mikulis | first3 = D. J. | last4 = Davis | first4 = K. D. | year = 2000 | title = A multimodal cortical network for the detection of changes in the sensory environment | doi = 10.1038/72991 | pmid = 10700261 | journal = Nature Neuroscience | volume = 3 | issue = 3| pages = 277–283 | s2cid = 8807081 }} as well as in modulating the switch between the internally directed cognition of the default mode network and the externally directed cognition of the central executive network. Evidence that the salience network mediates a switch between the DMN and CEN comes from Granger causality analysis and studies utilizing transcranial magnetic stimulation.{{cite journal |last1=Uddin |first1=Lucina Q. |title=Salience processing and insular cortical function and dysfunction |journal=Nature Reviews Neuroscience |date=19 November 2014 |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=55–61 |doi=10.1038/nrn3857 |pmid=25406711|s2cid=7786680 }} The timing of electrophysiological responses during the oddball task is consistent with interaction, as after the initial mismatch negativity response is transmitted "bottom-up" from sensory regions, a "top-down" signal localized to the AI and dACC occurs before a widespread evoked potential that corresponds to attentional shifting. It has also been hypothesized that the AI receives multimodal sensory input and the ACC and the associated dorsomedial prefrontal cortex sends motor output.

Abnormalities in the salience network have been observed in various psychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, frontotemporal dementia, and Alzheimer's disease.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

• The frontostriatal salience network is expanded nearly twofold in the cortex of most individuals with depression.{{cite journal|last1=Lynch|first1=C.J.|last2=Elbau|first2=I.G.|last3=Ng|first3=T.|title=Frontostriatal salience network expansion in individuals in depression|journal=Nature|date=September 2024|volume=633|pages=624–633|doi=10.1038/s41586-024-07805-2|pmc=11410656}}
• The AI node of the salience network has been observed to be hyperactive in anxiety disorders, which is thought to reflect predictions of aversive bodily states leading to worrisome thoughts and anxious behaviors. In schizophrenia, both structural and functional abnormalities have been observed, thought to reflect excessive salience being ascribed to internally generated stimuli.{{cite journal|last1=Menon|first1=V|title=Large-scale brain networks and psychopathology: a unifying triple network model.|journal=Trends in Cognitive Sciences|date=October 2011|volume=15|issue=10|pages=483–506|doi=10.1016/j.tics.2011.08.003|pmid=21908230|s2cid=26653572}}
• In individuals with autism, the relative salience of social stimuli, such as face, eyes, and gaze, may be diminished, leading to poor social skills.

The cingulo-opercular network (CO) has generally been equated with the salience network, but it may represent a distinct but adjacent network{{Cite journal|last1=Gratton|first1=Caterina|last2=Sun|first2=Haoxin|last3=Petersen|first3=Steven E.|date=2018|title=Control networks and hubs|journal=Psychophysiology|language=en|volume=55|issue=3|pages=e13032|doi=10.1111/psyp.13032|issn=1469-8986|pmc=5811327|pmid=29193146}} or a part of the SN.{{Cite journal|last1=Sestieri|first1=Carlo|last2=Corbetta|first2=Maurizio|last3=Spadone|first3=Sara|last4=Romani|first4=Gian Luca|last5=Shulman|first5=Gordon L.|date=March 2014|title=Domain-general signals in the cingulo-opercular network for visuospatial attention and episodic memory|journal=Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience|volume=26|issue=3|pages=551–568|doi=10.1162/jocn_a_00504|issn=0898-929X|pmc=3947512|pmid=24144246}} The CO may involve more dorsal areas, while the SN involves more ventral and rostral areas of the anterior insula and medial frontal cortex containing von Economo neurons. The CO is sometimes also referred to as the cingulo-insular network.

The ventral attention network (VAN), also known as the ventral frontoparietal network (VFN) or ventral attention system (VAS), has also been equated with the SN. The VAN is commonly defined as a right-hemisphere-dominant network involving the temporoparietal junction and the ventral frontal cortex that responds to unexpected salient stimuli.{{cite journal | last1 = Fox | first1 = M.D. | last2 = Corbetta | first2 = M. | last3 = Snyder | first3 = A.Z. | last4 = Vincent | first4 = J.L. | last5 = Raichle | first5 = M.E. | year = 2006 | title = Spontaneous neuronal activity distinguishes human dorsal and ventral attention systems | journal = PNAS | volume = 103 | issue = 26| pages = 10046–10051 | doi=10.1073/pnas.0604187103| pmid = 16788060 | pmc = 1480402 | bibcode = 2006PNAS..10310046F | doi-access = free }}{{Cite journal|last1=Farrant|first1=Kristafor|last2=Uddin|first2=Lucina Q.|date=2015-02-12|title=Asymmetric development of dorsal and ventral attention networks in the human brain|journal=Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience|volume=12|pages=165–174|doi=10.1016/j.dcn.2015.02.001|issn=1878-9293|pmc=4396619|pmid=25797238}} Some have defined it as a larger, bilateral network that is a combination of the SN and CO,{{Cite journal|last1=Webb|first1=Taylor W.|last2=Igelström|first2=Kajsa M.|last3=Schurger|first3=Aaron|last4=Graziano|first4=Michael S. A.|date=2016-11-29|title=Cortical networks involved in visual awareness independent of visual attention - Supporting Information|url=https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/suppl/2016/11/11/1611505113.DCSupplemental/pnas.201611505SI.pdf|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|language=en|volume=113|issue=48|pages=13923–13928|doi=10.1073/pnas.1611505113|issn=0027-8424|pmid=27849616|pmc=5137756|doi-access=free}} while others have described it as a part of the salience network involving the more dorsal anterior insular cortex.{{Cite journal|last1=Touroutoglou|first1=Alexandra|last2=Bliss-Moreau|first2=Eliza|last3=Zhang|first3=Jiahe|last4=Mantini|first4=Dante|last5=Vanduffel|first5=Wim|last6=Dickerson|first6=Bradford C.|last7=Barrett|first7=Lisa Feldman|date=2016-05-15|title=A Ventral Salience Network in the Macaque Brain|journal=NeuroImage|volume=132|pages=190–197|doi=10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.02.029|issn=1053-8119|pmc=4851897|pmid=26899785}}

In 2019, Uddin et al. proposed that midcingulo-insular network (M-CIN) be used as a standard anatomical name for the network that includes the SN, CO, and VAN.{{Cite journal|last1=Uddin|first1=Lucina Q.|last2=Yeo|first2=B. T. Thomas|last3=Spreng|first3=R. Nathan|date=2019-11-01|title=Towards a Universal Taxonomy of Macro-scale Functional Human Brain Networks|journal=Brain Topography|language=en|volume=32|issue=6|pages=926–942|doi=10.1007/s10548-019-00744-6|pmid=31707621|pmc=7325607|issn=1573-6792}}

• Default mode network
• Frontoparietal network
• Bottom-up processing

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{{Human connectomics}}

Category:Brain

Category:Neural circuitry