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Brain activity in ventromedial prefrontal cortex correlates with individual differences in negative affect.

David H Zald1, Dorothy L Mattson, José V Pardo

  • 1Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, 301 Wilson Hall, 111 21st Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37203, USA.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|February 14, 2002
PubMed
Summary

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Individual differences in negative affect (NA) are linked to brain activity. Resting brain scans show that activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) correlates with how much NA individuals report experiencing.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Psychology
  • Affective Science

Background:

  • Individuals exhibit significant variability in experiencing negative mood states over time.
  • Understanding the neural underpinnings of these individual differences in negative affect is crucial for affective science.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between individual differences in negative affect (NA) and resting brain activity.
  • To identify specific brain regions associated with subjective experiences of negative affect.

Main Methods:

  • Healthy participants underwent positron-emission tomography (PET) scans.
  • Subjects rated their experience of negative affect terms during the month preceding the scan.
  • Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured at rest.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Resting rCBF within the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) showed a significant correlation with self-reported NA ratings.
  • This correlation was observed in two independent samples, strengthening the finding.

Conclusions:

  • Variability in basal VMPFC activity is associated with individual differences in subjective emotional experience, specifically negative affect.
  • The findings support the VMPFC's role in emotional processing and autonomic regulation.