Is there a neurological basis for human insight?

Abstract

Insight is any sudden comprehension, realization, or problem solution that involves a reorganization of the elements of a person's mental representation of a stimulus, situation, or event to yield a nonobvious or nondominant interpretation. Insight is sudden, but it is preceded by substantial unconscious processing. In a clinical context, ‘insight’ refers to a conscious knowledge of health conditions and the capability to identify or judge the presence or severity of disease or symptoms. Altered insight cuts across different brain disorders including multiple forms of dementia, traumatic brain injury (TBI) and schizophrenia, among others. Reduced insight is commonly observed in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and is especially prominent in frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Altered insight into disease or specific symptoms is a important clinical feature of FTD. FTD is the second commonest cause of young onset dementia. Our understanding of FTD and its related syndromes has advanced significantly in recent years. In this presentation I will discuss insight in FTD and associated syndromes. The neurological basis of insight is an exciting new area of research with connections to fundamental cognitive processes.