In 2009, Tania Singer, Hugo D. Critchley, and Kerstin Preuschoff proposed a unifying model of the insula's role in feelings, empathy, and uncertainty. The insula, particularly the anterior insula (AI), is involved in representing current and predictive states, enabling error-based learning of emotional states and uncertainty. This information is integrated into a general subjective feeling state, modulated by individual preferences such as risk aversion and contextual appraisal. The model suggests that the insula supports affective learning and regulation of body homeostasis, and guides decision-making in complex and uncertain environments. The insula is implicated in bodily awareness, self-related and empathic feelings, and risk and uncertainty processing. It plays a key role in representing predictive feeling states and processing uncertainty, which are essential for decision-making. The AI is involved in mapping internal bodily states and emotional arousal, and its activity reflects the subjective intensity of one's own and others' emotional experiences. It is also linked to processing risk and uncertainty, with AI activity correlating with increased emotional salience and risk prediction errors. The model integrates sensory, affective, and bodily information with uncertainty to generate a dominant subjective feeling state. This state includes current and predictive feeling states, uncertainty, and individual preferences. The insula's role in empathy is highlighted, with AI activity reflecting empathic understanding and the simulation of how emotional stimuli feel to others. Studies show that impaired AI function is associated with deficits in empathy and emotional intelligence. The insula is also involved in decision-making, with AI activation linked to risk preferences and financial decisions. Damage to the insula is associated with reduced sensitivity to risk and impaired decision-making. The model suggests that the insula integrates information about uncertainty, bodily signals, and sensory input to guide behavior and decision-making, particularly in uncertain environments. The study highlights the insula's role in processing subjective feelings, empathy, and uncertainty, and its integration with other brain regions to support affective learning and decision-making. The model provides a framework for understanding the neural basis of these processes and their implications for social and economic decision-making.In 2009, Tania Singer, Hugo D. Critchley, and Kerstin Preuschoff proposed a unifying model of the insula's role in feelings, empathy, and uncertainty. The insula, particularly the anterior insula (AI), is involved in representing current and predictive states, enabling error-based learning of emotional states and uncertainty. This information is integrated into a general subjective feeling state, modulated by individual preferences such as risk aversion and contextual appraisal. The model suggests that the insula supports affective learning and regulation of body homeostasis, and guides decision-making in complex and uncertain environments. The insula is implicated in bodily awareness, self-related and empathic feelings, and risk and uncertainty processing. It plays a key role in representing predictive feeling states and processing uncertainty, which are essential for decision-making. The AI is involved in mapping internal bodily states and emotional arousal, and its activity reflects the subjective intensity of one's own and others' emotional experiences. It is also linked to processing risk and uncertainty, with AI activity correlating with increased emotional salience and risk prediction errors. The model integrates sensory, affective, and bodily information with uncertainty to generate a dominant subjective feeling state. This state includes current and predictive feeling states, uncertainty, and individual preferences. The insula's role in empathy is highlighted, with AI activity reflecting empathic understanding and the simulation of how emotional stimuli feel to others. Studies show that impaired AI function is associated with deficits in empathy and emotional intelligence. The insula is also involved in decision-making, with AI activation linked to risk preferences and financial decisions. Damage to the insula is associated with reduced sensitivity to risk and impaired decision-making. The model suggests that the insula integrates information about uncertainty, bodily signals, and sensory input to guide behavior and decision-making, particularly in uncertain environments. The study highlights the insula's role in processing subjective feelings, empathy, and uncertainty, and its integration with other brain regions to support affective learning and decision-making. The model provides a framework for understanding the neural basis of these processes and their implications for social and economic decision-making.