Nausea is a common clinical symptom, poorly managed with anti-emetic drugs. To identify potential brain regions which may be therapeutic targets we systematically reviewed brain imaging in subjects reporting nausea. The systematic review followed PRISMA statements with methodological quality (MINORS) and risk of bias (ROBINS-I) assessed. Irrespective of the nauseagenic stimulus the common (but not only) cortical structures activated were the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the anterior insula (AIns) with some evidence for lateralization (Left-IFG, Right-AIns, Right-ACC). Basal ganglia structures (e.g., putamen) were also consistently activated. Inactivation was rarely reported but occurred mainly in the cerebellum and occipital lobe. During nausea, functional connectivity increased, mainly between the posterior and mid- cingulate cortex. Limitations include, a paucity of studies and stimuli, subject demographics, inconsistent definition and measurement of nausea. Structures implicated in nausea are discussed in the context of knowledge of central pathways for interoception, emotion and autonomic control. Comparisons are made between nausea and other aversive sensations as multimodal aversive conscious experiences.

恶心是一种常见的临床症状，用止吐药控制不佳。为了确定可能成为治疗目标的潜在大脑区域，我们系统地审查了报告恶心的受试者的大脑成像。系统评价遵循 PRISMA 声明，评估了方法学质量 (MINORS) 和偏倚风险 (ROBINS-I)。不考虑恶心刺激，激活的常见（但不仅是）皮质结构是额下回（IFG）、前扣带皮层（ACC）和前脑岛（AIns），有一些偏侧化的证据（左-IFG，右- AIns，右-ACC）。基底神经节结构（例如，壳核）也一直被激活。很少报道失活，但主要发生在小脑和枕叶。在恶心期间，功能连接增加，主要位于后扣带皮层和中扣带皮层之间。局限性包括缺乏研究和刺激、受试者人口统计、恶心的定义和测量不一致。在了解内感受、情绪和自主控制的中枢通路知识的背景下，讨论了与恶心有关的结构。将恶心和其他厌恶感觉作为多模式厌恶意识体验进行了比较。