Oct 1, 2018
Today we are answering a question from Maria Ruberto who says,
"I would love to know more about the role of the cingulate
cordate/cortex - it's role from the limbic system to PFC in terms
especially in the processing of emotions. I am doing some work with
clients around how emotions "move" and are translated in the neural
cortices. That would be great!!!!"
Here's just a few of the resources we have at The
Neuropsychotherapist relating to the cingulate cortex...
Conservative Brains vs Liberal Brains (
https://www.neuropsychotherapist.com/conservative-brains-vs-liberal-brains/
) - Lou Cozolino's article suggest that conservatives and liberals
are characterized by differences in either activation or volume in
the anterior cingulate cortex (as well as other brain areas) -
liberal group demonstrated greater ACC activation than
conservatives = greater novelty detection, conflict monitoring,
decision-making, self-reflective capacity, attachment, and
empathy.
A study this year suggests people with higher levels
of mindfulness can more easily cope with the pain of rejection
- more mindful individuals showed less functional
connectivity between the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (which is
known to assist in the “top-down” inhibitory regulation of both
physical and social forms of pain) and two brain regions that help
generate the experience of social distress, the amygdala and the
dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. https://www.neuropsychotherapist.com/social-rejection-is-painful-and-can-lead-to-violence-a-new-study-suggests-that-mindfulness-may-be-a-solution/
And here's a study from last year (New research
advances understanding of the function of the brain’s anterior
cingulate cortex and its tie to human learning)- So this
research demonstrates that the ACC has expectations about what’s
going to happen. Then, when the result of our actions leads to an
outcome, our brain assesses whether that outcome was the same as
what we expected. The ACC is integrally involved in this process.
If the outcome is not what we expected, the ACC reacts with a
larger electrical charge – known as feedback negativity – than if
the outcome was expected. https://www.neuropsychotherapist.com/unlv-study-reveals-breakthrough-in-decoding-brain-function/
A study from last year as well that looks at the effects of
child abuse on the ACC - the long-lasting effects of traumatic
childhood experiences, like severe abuse, may be due to an impaired
structure and functioning of cells in the anterior cingulate cortex
(esp. in the development of white matter or myelination) "changes
may alter functional coupling between the cingulate cortex and
subcortical structures such as the amygdala and nucleus accumbens
(areas of the brain linked respectively to emotional regulation and
to reward and satisfaction) and contribute to altered emotional
processing in people who have been abused during childhood."
https://www.neuropsychotherapist.com/child-abuse-affects-brain-wiring/
I mention the role of the cingulate cortex in the activation
patterns of the DMN (that revolve around episodic memory,
self-projection, and self-referential processing), located in hubs
in both the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the posterior
cingulate cortex (PCC). https://www.neuropsychotherapist.com/guide-to-the-brain-part-11-default-mode-network/
And also in the same series I talk about a chronically
underactivated ACC in depression https://www.neuropsychotherapist.com/guide-to-the-brain-part-13-depression/
[I also touch on research that divides the ACC into two
different functional areas: (a) the affect
subdivision, encompassing the rostral and ventral areas
connected with limbic and paralimbic regions—involved in regulating
responses to stressful events, emotional expression, and social
behavior; and (b) the cognitive subdivision,
comprising the dorsal regions closely connected with the
dorsolateral prefrontal cortex—involved in processing cognitively
demanding information. So, hypoactivation of the affect subdivision
may blunt emotional experiencing and arousal, while
hypoactivation of the cognitive subdivision may impair the
recruitment and monitoring of executive functions to meet
challenges.
This month in our magazine!
- The Yoga of Creative Consciousness and Cognition in Neuropsychotherapy by Kathryn Lane Rossi
- Mind Switches: everything that needs to change to favour change: How to work on the 4 key elements at the heart of change - Neuroplasticity and Metabolism; System Balance; Brain Networks & Hubs; Natural Flows by Fabio Sinibaldi
- Part 2 of - The Neurodevelopmental Impact of Stress, Adversity, and Trauma: Implications for Social Work by Janet R. Shapiro and Jeffrey S. Applegate (Excerpted from the Norton book: Neurobiology for Clinical Social Work, Second Edition)