The anterior cingulate cortex and the phonatory control in monkey and man.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Primate Behavior

Background:

• Electrical stimulation of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in monkeys elicits vocalizations.
• These vocalizations appear to be direct responses to stimuli.
• The ACC's role in vocal control is being investigated.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in the volitional control of vocalizations.
• To explore the potential homologous function of the ACC in human emotional vocalization.

Main Methods:

• Studied vocalization responses to electrical stimulation of the ACC in monkeys.
• Assessed the impact of ACC ablation on vocal and non-vocal conditioning tasks in monkeys.
• Reported a case study of a patient with bilateral ACC infarction and subsequent vocal changes.

Main Results:

• Monkeys could not perform vocal conditioning tasks after ACC ablation but could perform lever-pressing tasks.
• Electrical stimulation of the ACC elicited vocalizations in monkeys.
• A patient with bilateral ACC infarction exhibited a permanent lack of emotional expression in their voice.

Conclusions:

• The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) appears crucial for the volitional control of species-specific vocalizations in monkeys.
• Human non-verbal emotional vocalizations may be homologous to monkey vocalizations.
• Bilateral lesions of the ACC in humans may impair the volitional control of emotional vocal utterances.