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Updated: May 27, 2025

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Impairing Effect of Emotion on Cognition
Published on: February 1, 2012
Cingulate and Frontopolar Cortical Projections to the Cerebellar Vermis Support Prolonged Reaction Time in
Abstract:
We previously observed sex differences in the association of individual anxiety and reaction time (RT) during identification of negative emotional scenes in a Hariri task. Prolonged RT in identifying negative (vs. neutral) images represents a behavioral marker of individual anxiety in women but not in men. However, the neural circuit that supports this behavioral observation remains unclear. Here, with a larger sample (64 men and 62 women), we employed whole-brain regression on individual differences in RT during matching negative vs. neutral images or RT (negative - neutral) and evaluated the results at a corrected threshold. Women but not men showed a significant correlation between individual anxiety and RT (negative - neutral), with a slope test confirming the sex difference. In women alone the cerebellar vermis showed activity in positive correlation with RT (negative - neutral). Further, Granger causality mapping (GCM) showed multiple brain regions, including the anterior cingulate cortex/frontopolar cortex (ACC/FPC), that provide inputs to the cerebellar vermis in women. Amongst these regions, only the ACC/FPC cluster showed activity (β) in significant correlation with both STAI State score and RT (negative - neutral) in women. GCM also identified a small cluster in the pons, suggesting that the cortical pontine cerebellar circuit may support prolonged RT during identification of negative emotions. Path analyses further characterized the inter-relationships amongst the neural markers, RT, and anxiety. These findings highlight a behavioral and circuit marker of anxiety state in neurotypical women. Studies with different behavioral paradigms are needed to characterize the behavioral and neural mechanisms of male anxiety.
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05:36Central and Divided Visual Field Presentation of Emotional Images to Measure Hemispheric Differences in Motivated Attention
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