Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Medial prefrontal cortex and self-referential mental activity: relation to a default mode of brain function.

D A Gusnard1, E Akbudak, G L Shulman

  • 1Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology and Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA. gusnard@npg.wustl.edu

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|March 22, 2001
PubMed
Summary

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Behavioural clusters and predictors of performance during recovery from stroke.

Nature human behaviour·2017
Same author

A path toward understanding neurodegeneration.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2016
Same author

The circuitry of abulia: insights from functional connectivity MRI.

NeuroImage. Clinical·2014
Same author

Lag structure in resting-state fMRI.

Journal of neurophysiology·2014
Same author

Is word recognition automatic? A cognitive-anatomical approach.

Journal of cognitive neuroscience·2013
Same author

Positron emission tomographic studies of the processing of singe words.

Journal of cognitive neuroscience·2013

The medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) shows distinct activity patterns during self-referential tasks. Dorsal MPFC activity increases, while ventral MPFC decreases, suggesting roles in self-processing and emotional regulation during default brain states.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Brain Imaging

Background:

  • The medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) exhibits high resting metabolic activity.
  • MPFC activity decreases during goal-directed behaviors, suggesting a default brain function mode.
  • MPFC regions are implicated in the neural basis of the self.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of MPFC default state activity in self-referential processing.
  • To differentiate the functions of dorsal and ventral MPFC.
  • To explore the neurobiology of the self through default brain activity.

Main Methods:

  • Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study.
  • Subjects performed self-referential (internally cued condition, ICC) and non-self-referential (externally cued condition, ECC) judgments.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Judgments involved evaluating affectively normed pictures (pleasant/unpleasant vs. indoors/outdoors).

    • Main Results:

    • The ICC was associated with increased activity in the dorsal MPFC.
    • Both active task conditions showed decreased activity in the ventral MPFC.
    • Dorsal MPFC activation correlated with self-referential mental activity.
    • Ventral MPFC deactivation correlated with attentional demands and reduced emotional processing.

    Conclusions:

    • Dorsal and ventral MPFC are differentially modulated by attention-demanding and self-referential tasks.
    • Self-referential mental activity is linked to dorsal MPFC increases.
    • Ventral MPFC reductions reflect the attenuation of emotional processing during tasks.
    • Default state activity in MPFC may represent self-referential and emotional processing.