scholarly journals Establishing a causal role for medial prefrontal cortex in reality monitoring

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karuna Subramaniam ◽  
Hardik Kothare ◽  
Leighton B. Hinkley ◽  
Phiroz Tarapore ◽  
Srikantan S. Nagarajan
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Medial Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Negative Mood ◽  
Reality Monitoring ◽  
Causal Role ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Imaging Studies ◽  
Brain Target ◽  
Information Functional

AbstractReality monitoring is defined as the ability to distinguish internally self-generated information from externally-derived information. Functional imaging studies have consistently found that the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is a key brain region subserving reality monitoring. The aim of this study was to determine a causal role for mPFC in reality monitoring using navigated repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (nrTMS). In a subject-blinded sham-controlled crossover design, healthy individuals received either active or sham nrTMS targeting mPFC. Active modulation of mPFC using nrTMS at a frequency of 10 Hz, significantly improved identification of both self-generated and externally-derived information during reality monitoring, when compared to sham or baseline. Targeted excitatory modulation of mPFC also improved positive mood ratings, reduced negative mood ratings and increased overall alertness/arousal. These results establish optimal nrTMS dosing parameters that maximized tolerability/comfort and induced significant neuromodulatory effects in the mPFC target. Importantly, this is a proof-of-concept study that establishes the mPFC as a novel brain target that can be stimulated with nrTMS to causally impact both mood and higher-order reality monitoring.

scholarly journals Establishing a Causal Role for Medial Prefrontal Cortex in Reality Monitoring

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karuna Subramaniam ◽  
Hardik Kothare ◽  
Leighton B. Hinkley ◽  
Phiroz Tarapore ◽  
Srikantan S. Nagarajan
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Medial Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Reality Monitoring ◽  
Causal Role

scholarly journals Medial prefrontal cortex has a causal role in selectively enhanced consolidation of emotional memories after a 24-hour delay: A TBS study

2021 ◽  
pp. JN-RM-2599-20
Author(s):  
Nicholas Yeh ◽  
Jessica D. Payne ◽  
Sara Y. Kim ◽  
Elizabeth A. Kensinger ◽  
Joshua D. Koen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Medial Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Causal Role ◽  
Emotional Memories

Pleasure Rather Than Salience Activates Human Nucleus Accumbens and Medial Prefrontal Cortex

2007 ◽  
Vol 98 (3) ◽  
pp. 1374-1379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dean Sabatinelli ◽  
Margaret M. Bradley ◽  
Peter J. Lang ◽  
Vincent D. Costa ◽  
Francesco Versace
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Nucleus Accumbens ◽  
Visual Perception ◽  
Medial Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Functional Imaging ◽  
Imaging Studies ◽  
Romantic Couples ◽  
Free Viewing ◽  
Stimulus Salience ◽  
High Stimulus

Recent human functional imaging studies have linked the processing of pleasant visual stimuli to activity in mesolimbic reward structures. However, whether the activation is driven specifically by the pleasantness of the stimulus, or by its salience, is unresolved. Here we find in two studies that free viewing of pleasant images of erotic and romantic couples prompts clear, reliable increases in nucleus accumbens (NAc) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) activity, whereas equally arousing (salient) unpleasant images, and neutral pictures, do not. These data suggest that in visual perception, the human NAc and mPFC are specifically reactive to pleasant, rewarding stimuli and are not engaged by unpleasant stimuli, despite high stimulus salience.

scholarly journals Beta-band activity in medial prefrontal cortex predicts source memory encoding and retrieval accuracy

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karuna Subramaniam ◽  
Leighton B.N. Hinkley ◽  
Danielle Mizuiri ◽  
Hardik Kothare ◽  
Coleman Garrett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Medial Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Source Memory ◽  
Time Window ◽  
Reality Monitoring ◽  
Memory Encoding ◽  
Beta Band ◽  
Retrieval Accuracy ◽  
Band Activity ◽  
Encoding And Retrieval

AbstractReality monitoring is defined as the ability to distinguish internally self-generated information from externally-derived information. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is a key brain region subserving reality monitoring and has been shown to be activated specifically during the retrieval of self-generated information. However, it is unclear if mPFC is activated during the encoding of self-generated information into memory. If so, it is important to understand whether successful retrieval of self-generated information critically depends on enhanced neural activity within mPFC during initial encoding of this self-generated information.We used magnetoencephalographic imaging (MEGI) to determine the timing and location of cortical activity during a reality-monitoring task involving self generated contextual source memory encoding and retrieval. We found both during encoding and retrieval of self-generated information, when compared to externally-derived information, mPFC showed significant task induced oscillatory power modulation in the beta-band. During initial encoding of self-generated information, greater mPFC beta-band power reductions occurred within a time window of −700ms to −500ms prior to vocalization, activity in mPFC that was not observed during encoding of externally-derived information. This mPFC activity during encoding of self-generated information predicted subsequent retrieval accuracy of self-generated information. Beta-band activity in mPFC was also observed during the initial retrieval of self-generated information within a time window of 300 to 500ms following stimulus onset and correlated with accurate retrieval performance of self-generated information. Together, these results further highlight the importance of mPFC in mediating the initial generation and awareness of participants’ internal thoughts.

scholarly journals Preferential Neuronal Responses to Snakes in the Monkey Medial Prefrontal Cortex Support an Evolutionary Origin for Ophidiophobia

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ha Trong Dinh ◽  
Hiroshi Nishimaru ◽  
Quan Van Le ◽  
Jumpei Matsumoto ◽  
Tsuyoshi Setogawa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Medial Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Aversive Conditioning ◽  
Specific Phobia ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Evolutionary Origin ◽  
Neuronal Responses ◽  
Imaging Studies ◽  
Highly Sensitive ◽  
Rostral Part

Ophidiophobia (snake phobia) is one of the most common specific phobias. It has been proposed that specific phobia may have an evolutionary origin, and that attentional bias to specific items may promote the onset of phobia. Noninvasive imaging studies of patients with specific phobia reported that the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), especially the rostral part of the anterior cingulate cortex (rACC), and amygdala are activated during the presentation of phobogenic stimuli. We propose that the mPFC-amygdala circuit may be involved in the pathogenesis of phobia. The mPFC receives inputs from the phylogenically old subcortical visual pathway including the superior colliculus, pulvinar, and amygdala, while mPFC neurons are highly sensitive to snakes that are the first modern predator of primates, and discriminate snakes with striking postures from those with non-striking postures. Furthermore, the mPFC has been implicated in the attentional allocation and promotes amygdala-dependent aversive conditioning. These findings suggest that the rACC focuses attention on snakes, and promotes aversive conditioning to snakes, which may lead to anxiety and ophidiophobia.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document