Differential engagement of anterior cingulate and adjacent medial frontal cortex in adept meditators and non-meditators

AbstractInfluential theories of medial frontal cortex (MFC) function suggest that the MFC registers cognitive conflict as an aversive signal, but no study directly tested this idea. Instead, recent studies suggested that non-overlapping regions in the MFC process conflict and affect. In this pre-registered human fMRI study, we used multivariate pattern analyses to identify which regions respond similarly to conflict and aversive signals. The results reveal that, of all conflict- and value-related regions, the ventral pre-supplementary motor area (or dorsal anterior cingulate cortex) showed a shared neural pattern response to different conflict and affect tasks. These findings challenge recent conclusions that conflict and affect are processed independently, and provide support for integrative views of MFC function.

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Structural Disconnection of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex Reduces Speech Error Monitoring

10.1101/2021.09.13.460087 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Joshua McCall ◽

Jonathan Vivian Dickens ◽

Ayan Mandal ◽

Andrew Tesla DeMarco ◽

Mackenzie Fama ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Executive Function ◽

Frontal Cortex ◽

Speech Production ◽

Error Detection ◽

Structural Connectivity ◽

Medial Frontal Cortex ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Support Vector ◽

Error Monitoring ◽

Speech Error

Optimal performance in any task relies on the ability to detect and repair errors. The anterior cingulate cortex and the broader posterior medial frontal cortex (pMFC) are active during error processing. However, it is unclear whether damage to the pMFC impairs error monitoring. We hypothesized that successful error monitoring critically relies on connections between the pMFC and broader cortical networks involved in executive functions and the task being monitored. We tested this hypothesis in the context of speech error monitoring in people with post-stroke aphasia. Diffusion weighted images were collected in 51 adults with chronic left-hemisphere stroke and 37 age-matched control participants. Whole-brain connectomes were derived using constrained spherical deconvolution and anatomically-constrained probabilistic tractography. Support vector regressions identified white matter connections in which lost integrity in stroke survivors related to reduced error detection during confrontation naming. Lesioned connections to the bilateral pMFC were related to reduced error monitoring, including many connections to regions associated with speech production and executive function. We conclude that connections to the pMFC support error monitoring. Error monitoring in speech production is supported by the structural connectivity between the pMFC and regions involved in speech production and executive function. Interactions between pMFC and other task relevant processors may similarly be critical for error monitoring in other task contexts.

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Functional Specialization within Medial Frontal Cortex of the Anterior Cingulate for Evaluating Effort-Related Decisions

Journal of Neuroscience ◽

10.1523/jneurosci.23-16-06475.2003 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 23 (16) ◽

pp. 6475-6479 ◽

Cited By ~ 294

Author(s):

Mark E. Walton ◽

David M. Bannerman ◽

Karin Alterescu ◽

Matthew F. S. Rushworth

Keyword(s):

Frontal Cortex ◽

Medial Frontal Cortex ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Functional Specialization

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Changes in regional cerebral blood flow during acute electroconvulsive therapy in patients with depression

The British Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1192/bjp.bp.106.023036 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 190 (1) ◽

pp. 63-68 ◽

Cited By ~ 50

Author(s):

Harumasa Takano ◽

Nobutaka Motohashi ◽

Takeshi Uema ◽

Kenichi Ogawa ◽

Takashi Ohnishi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Blood Flow ◽

Cerebral Blood Flow ◽

Frontal Cortex ◽

Electroconvulsive Therapy ◽

Time Course ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Neural Mechanisms ◽

Medial Frontal Cortex ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Positron Emission

BackgroundAlthough electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is widely used to treat psychiatric disorders such as depression, its precise neural mechanisms remain unknown.AimsTo investigate the time course of changes in cerebral blood flow during acute ECT.MethodCerebral blood flow was quantified serially prior to, during and after acute ECT in six patients with depression under anaesthesia using [15O]H2O positron emission tomography (PET).ResultsCerebral blood flow during ECT increased particularly in the basal ganglia, brain-stem, diencephalon, amygdala, vermis and the frontal, temporal and parietal cortices compared with that before ECT. The flow increased in the thalamus and decreased in the anterior cingulate and medial frontal cortex soon after ECT compared with that before ECT.ConclusionsThese results suggest a relationship between the centrencephalic system and seizure generalisation. Further, they suggest that some neural mechanisms of action of ECT are mediated via brain regions including the anterior cingulate and medial frontal cortex and thalamus.

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