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Emotional and personality changes following cingulotomy.

R A Cohen¹, R Paul, T M Zawacki

¹Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, The Miriam Hospital, Brown University School of Medicine, Providence, Rhode Island 02906, USA. ronald_cohen@brown.edu

Emotion (Washington, D.C.)

|August 5, 2003

Summary

Bilateral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) lesions reduced emotional tension and anger. This suggests the ACC plays a role in emotional regulation and attention.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Psychology
Neurosurgery

Background:

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is implicated in emotional processing and cognitive functions.
Understanding the ACC's role is crucial for treating conditions involving emotional dysregulation and chronic pain.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the impact of bilateral ACC lesions on emotional and personality functioning.
To explore the relationship between emotional changes and cognitive performance post-cingulotomy.

Main Methods:

Assessed patients undergoing cingulotomy for chronic pain using MMPI, POMS, cognitive tests, and pain ratings pre- and post-surgery.
Included a control group of patients with intractable pain not undergoing cingulotomy.

Main Results:

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Cingulotomy patients showed significant reductions in self-reported tension and anger (POMS) and psychasthenia (MMPI Scale 7) compared to baseline and controls.
Reduced tension (POMS-Tension) correlated significantly with attention-intention performance.

Conclusions:

The ACC modulates emotional experience, particularly self-perceived tension.
A relationship exists between the emotional and attentional effects following cingulotomy.