insula
insula — noun
- insulasingular
- insulasplural
1. A small, folded area of the brain's surface that lies hidden beneath the temples
A small, folded area of the brain's surface that lies hidden beneath the temples on each side, thought to process feelings such as disgust, empathy, and bodily awareness.
Functional MRI scans showed that the insula lit up when participants felt disgust.
collocation: insula lit up (neural activation)
Damage to the insula can reduce a person's ability to recognise when they are hungry or in pain.
Subject: damage + to the insula
The neuroscientist explained that the insula helps the brain map the body's internal state.
Studies suggest that meditation can increase grey-matter density in the insula over time.
- insular cortex
the full anatomical name for this region; more precise but interchangeable with 'insula' in most neurology writing
- island of Reil
an older, less common name; rarely used today outside historical texts
文法句型
the insula
用法筆記
In academic writing the term is usually preceded by 'the'. Often used in medical or psychological contexts; outside those fields the general public rarely uses this word.
2. In ancient Rome, a multi-storey building divided into rental apartments, usually
In ancient Rome, a multi-storey building divided into rental apartments, usually surrounding a central courtyard, with shops or workshops facing the street.
Excavations in Ostia have revealed the remains of an insula with shops on the ground floor.
collocation: remains of an insula
Most poor families in imperial Rome lived in cramped wooden insulae that often collapsed or caught fire.
Professor Mancini showed the students a diagram of a typical Roman insula, with five floors of apartments.
The Roman writer Juvenal complained about the dangers of crumbling insulae in the city of Rome.
- apartment block
modern equivalent; lacks the historical-specific meaning of the Roman building type
- tenement
similar concept of multi-family rental housing, but the term is general and not Roman-specific
文法句型
an insula
the insulae
用法筆記
The plural is 'insulae' (pronounced IN-suh-lee). This sense appears almost exclusively in discussions of ancient Roman urban life, archaeology, or architecture.