Navigating through life requires balancing emotion and reason, a feat accomplished by the brain region "area 32" of the anterior cingulate cortex. The area maintains emotional equilibrium by relaying information between cognitive and emotional brain regions, according to new research in monkeys published in JNeurosci.
Emotional balance goes haywire in mood disorders like depression, leading to unchecked negative emotions and an inability to break out of rumination. In fact, people with depression often have an overactive area 25, a region involved in emotional expression. Healthy emotional regulation requires communication between cognitive regions, like the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and emotion regions, like area 25, also known as the subgenual cortex. But because these two areas are weakly connected, there must be a middleman involved.
The authors used bidirectional neuron tracers to visualize the connections between the DLPFC, area 25, and area 32, a potential middleman, in rhesus monkeys. The DLPFC connects to the deepest layers of area 32, where the strongest inhibitory neurons reside. Area 32 connects to every layer of area 25, positioning it as a powerful regulator of area 25 activity.
In healthy brains, the DLPFC signals to area 32 to balance area 25 activity, allowing emotional equilibrium. But in depression, silence from the DLPFC results in too much area 25 activity and out-of-control emotional processing.
https://www.jneurosci.org/content/early/2020/09/28/JNEUROSCI.0860-20.2020
Balancing emotion and reason in the brain
- 828 views
- Added
Edited
Latest News
Father's gut microbes affec…
By newseditor
Posted 08 May
A new brain circuit in mice…
By newseditor
Posted 08 May
Mechanism of choline entry…
By newseditor
Posted 07 May
Link between UTI and breast…
By newseditor
Posted 07 May
Sleep resets brain connections
By newseditor
Posted 07 May
Other Top Stories
How neural circuits drive hungry individuals to peak performance
Read more
Nuclear war between India and Pakistan could kill millions worldwide
Read more
Multi-generational effect on immune system by environmental toxins
Read more
Aspirin cuts the toxic effects of air pollution on lungs
Read more
DNA methylation test to measure developmental age of children in he…
Read more
Protocols
Single-cell adhesive profil…
By newseditor
Posted 07 May
Parasympathetic neurons der…
By newseditor
Posted 07 May
Non-invasive measurements o…
By newseditor
Posted 05 May
A validation strategy to as…
By newseditor
Posted 04 May
Generation of rat forebrain…
By newseditor
Posted 03 May
Publications
Paternal microbiome perturb…
By newseditor
Posted 08 May
Truncating NFKB1 variants c…
By newseditor
Posted 08 May
Synaptotagmin-11 facilitate…
By newseditor
Posted 08 May
Astrocytic Slc4a4 regulates…
By newseditor
Posted 08 May
Diabetic retinopathy is a c…
By newseditor
Posted 08 May
Presentations
Hydrogels in Drug Delivery
By newseditor
Posted 12 Apr
Lipids
By newseditor
Posted 31 Dec
Cell biology of carbohydrat…
By newseditor
Posted 29 Nov
RNA interference (RNAi)
By newseditor
Posted 23 Oct
RNA structure and functions
By newseditor
Posted 19 Oct
Posters
A chemical biology/modular…
By newseditor
Posted 22 Aug
Single-molecule covalent ma…
By newseditor
Posted 04 Jul
ASCO-2020-HEALTH SERVICES R…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-HEAD AND NECK CANCER
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-GENITOURINARY CAN…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar