Granular insular cortex (or visceral area) refers to a portion of the cerebral cortex defined on the basis of internal structure in the human and macaque,[1] the rat,[2] and the mouse.
[3] Classified as neocortex, it is in primates distinguished from adjacent allocortex (periallocortex) by the presence of granular layers – external granular layer (II) and internal granular layer (IV) – and by differentiation of the external pyramidal layer (III) into sublayers.
[4] In primates it occupies the posterior part of the insula.
[5] In rodents it is located on the lateral surface of the cortex rostrally, dorsal to the gustatory area or, more caudally, dorsal to the agranular insula.
[6] This neuroanatomy article is a stub.