Anterior cingulate cortex modulates preparatory activation during certain anticipation of negative picture

• Published in: Neuropsychologia Vol. 46; no. 1; pp. 102 - 110
• Main Authors: Onoda, Keiichi, Okamoto, Yasumasa, Toki, Shigeru, Ueda, Kazutaka, Shishida, Kazuhiro, Kinoshita, Akiko, Yoshimura, Shinpei, Yamashita, Hidehisa, Yamawaki, Shigeto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.01.2008; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Adult; Affect; Analysis of Variance; Anatomical correlates of behavior; Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC); Attention - physiology; Behavioral psychophysiology; Biological and medical sciences; Brain Mapping; Certain negative anticipation; Female; fMRI; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gyrus Cinguli - blood supply; Gyrus Cinguli - physiology; Humans; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted - methods; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Male; Oxygen - blood; Photic Stimulation - methods; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Psychophysics; Reaction Time - physiology; Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC); fMRI; Certain negative anticipation; Human; Affect affectivity; Central nervous system; Activation; Anticipation; Emotion emotionality; Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging; Encephalon; Cingulate cortex; Preparation; Functional imaging
• ISSN: 0028-3932; 1873-3514
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2007.08.006

We studied the neural activation associated with anticipations of emotional pictures using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) by directly comparing certain with uncertain anticipation conditions. While being scanned with fMRI, healthy participants ( n = 18) were cued to anticipate and then perceive emotional stimuli having predictable (i.e., certain) emotional valences (i.e., positive and negative), given a preceding cue, as well as cued stimuli of uncertain valence (positive or negative). During anticipation of pictures with certain negative valence, activities of supracallosal anterior cingulate cortex, ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, insula, and amygdala were enhanced relative activity levels that for the uncertain emotional anticipation condition. This result suggests that these brain regions are involved in anticipation of negative images, and that their activity levels may be enhanced by the certainty of anticipation. Furthermore, the supracallosal anterior cingulate cortex showed functional connectivity with the insula, prefrontal cortex, and occipital cortex during the certain negative anticipation. These findings are consistent with an interpretation that top-down modulation, arising from anterior brain regions, is engaged in certain negative anticipation within the occipital cortex. It is thought that the limbic system involving the amygdala, ACC, and insula, engaged emotional processes, and that the input system involving the visual cortex entered an idling state.