words. Fabienne Picard proposes a neurological explanation for this subjective certainty, based on clinical research of epilepsy. According to Picard, this feeling of certainty may be caused by a dysfunction of the anterior insula, a part of the brain which is involved in interoception, self-reflection, and in avoiding uncertainty about the internal representations of the world by "anticipation of resolution of uncertainty or risk". This avoidance of uncertainty functions through the comparison between predicted states and actual states, that is, "signaling that we do not understand, i.e., that there is ambiguity." Picard notes that "the concept of insight is very close to that of certainty," and refers to Archimedes' "Eureka!" Picard hypothesizes that during ecstatic seizures the comparison between predicted states and actual states no longer functions, and that mismatches between predicted state and actual state are no longer processed, blocking "negative emotions and negative arousal arising from predictive uncertainty," which will be experienced as emotional confidence. Picard concludes that "[t]his could lead to a spiritual interpretation in some individuals." Other clinical conditions The insular cortex has been suggested to have a role in anxiety disorders, emotion dysregulation, and anorexia nervosa. History The insula was first described by Johann Christian Reil while describing cranial and spinal nerves and plexuses. Henry Gray in Gray's Anatomy is responsible for it being known as the Island of Reil. John Allman and colleagues showed that anterior insular cortex contains spindle neurons. Additional images See also List of regions in the human brain References External links . Location and literature citations for the insula Homeostasis Human homeostasis Cerebral cortex