The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is the frontal part of the cingulate cortex, that resembles a "collar" form around the corpus callosum, the fibrous bundle that relays neural signals between the right and left cerebral hemispheres of the brain. It consists of Brodmann areas 24, 32 and 33. It appears to play a role in a wide variety of autonomic functions, such as regulating blood pressure and heart rate, as well as rational cognitive functions, such as reward anticipation, decision making, empathy[1] and emotion.[2][3]
In decision making it is thought to detect conflicts between two deductions[4][5] and evaluating the rewards of actions[6]. On the integration of these finding please read this article.
In order to resolve an emotional conflict the rostalACC inhibits the amygdala (or FFFF mechanism)[7]. This is strengthing by the findings that in panic disorder, the volume of the the ACC is reduced, [8] . When the ACC (ACcd) has deficient in activation, there seem to be more impolsivity in ADHD compered to control group[9]. When anticipating pain, women domnstrate more activation of the ACC[10].
dorsal ACC
It is thought that the dorsal ACC is primarly involved in cognitive processing[11]. It is part of the learning mechanism, that learn the positive and negative outcomes of actions. It is also a reward mechanism, that gives "globals enrgizing factor", to actions that in the past seems to be rewarding[12]. Rats with lisions in the ACC, prefer less effortful mission with less reward, to tasks with more effortful with more reward[13].The ACC motivation mechanism is dependent on dopamin[14][15]. The Meutation in Dopamin receptor D2 may lower the amount of dopamin recived by the ACC, thus it may be the cause that make people with Atention Deficit Disorder (ADD), have lack of motivation to engage in effortful actions and decision making.
A Role for the Human Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex in Fear Expression, 2007 - dACC has a major role in fear expression. When electrode stimulus was introduced to the dACC during head operations, patients reported high level of anxiety, where as when the regions was removed, anxiety symptoms were reduced[16]
Dorsal ACC decision making system
rostral ACC
It is thought that rostral ACC id involved in emotional processing[17]. Sadness enhances the experience of pain via neural activation in the anterior cingulate cortex and amygdala[18].The Rostral Anterior Cingulate Cortex Modulates the Efficiency of Amygdala-Dependent Fear Learning[19].
Contents
Further readings
- An article in a book about theories on the functions of dorsal ACC (2011).
- A Research on ACC and conflicit resolution (2004).
- A paper on A paper on ACC and atteintion defliction on pain (2002).
Other close areas
- Theory of cognitive dissonance[20]
References
- ↑ http://ccare.stanford.edu/node/89
- ↑ Decety, J., & Jackson, P.L. (2004). The functional architecture of human empathy. Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Reviews, 3, 71-100.
- ↑ Jackson P.L., Brunet E., Meltzoff A.N., Decety J., 2006 Empathy examined through the neural mechanisms involved in imagining how I feel versus how you feel pain: An event-related fMRI study, Neuropsychologia, 44, pp. 752–61
- ↑ Neurocognitive correlates of liberalism and conservatism, 2007, Amodio et al. Nature neuroscience (Summery in Hebrew)
- ↑ Jin Fan, Patrick R. Hof, Kevin G. Guise, John A. Fossella and Michael I. Posner, The Functional Integration of the Anterior Cingulate Cortex during Conflict Processing, Cerebral Cortex, Volume 18 Issue 4, p. 796-805.
- ↑ Kennerley et al., Optimal decision making and the anterior cingulate cortex, Nature Neuroscience 9, 940 - 947 (2006)
- ↑ Amit Etkin, Tobias Egner, Daniel M. Peraza, Eric R. Kandel and Joy Hirsch, Resolving Emotional Conflict: A Role for the Rostral Anterior Cingulate Cortex in Modulating Activity in the Amygdala, Neuron 51, 1–12, September 7, 2006
- ↑ Takeshi et al., Anterior cingulate cortex volume reduction in patients with panic disorder, Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences 2008; 62: 322–330
- ↑ low ACcd activity and ADHD impulsivity, 1999
- ↑ Gender difrences in ACC before pain, 2005
- ↑ Bush G, Luu P & Posner MI, Cognotve and emotional influances in the anterior cingulate cotrex, Trends. Cogn. Sci. 4, 215-222 (2000)
- ↑ Struss DT et al.,2005, Multiple frontal systems controlling response speed, Neuropshichologia, 43: 396-417
- ↑ Walton ME at al, 2003, Fanctional specilization within medial frontal cortex of the antirior cingulate for evaluating effort-related decisions, J Neurosci, 23: 6475-6479
- ↑ Assadi SM, Yucel M & Pantelis C, 2009, Dopamin Modulates neural netowrks involved in effort-based decision making, Neurosci Biobehav, 33: 383-393
- ↑ Alexander MP, 2001, Chronic akinetic mutism after mesanphilic-diancphelick infraction: remediated with dopaminergic medications, Neurohabil Nural Repai, 15:151-156
- ↑ Meyer G, McElhaney M, Martin W, McGraw CP (1973): Stereotactic cin- gulotomy with results of acute stimulation and serial psychological testing, In: Laitinen LV, Livingston KE, editors. Surgical Approaches in Psychiatry. Lancaster, United Kingdom: MTP, Baltimore, 39 –58.
- ↑ Bush G, Luu P & Posner MI, Cognotve and emotional influances in the anterior cingulate cotrex, Trends. Cogn. Sci. 4, 215-222 (2000)
- ↑ [ http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811909012658Atsou et al., Sadness enhances the experience of pain via neural activation in the anteriorcingulatecortex and amygdala: An fMRI study, 2009]
- ↑ Bissieree et al., The Rostral Anterior Cingulate Cortex Modulates the Efficiency of Amygdala-Dependent Fear Learning, 2008
- ↑ Festinger, L. (1957). A theory ofcognitive dissonance. Evanston, IL: Row, Peterson