Sex specificity of ventral anterior cingulate cortex suppression during a cognitive task.
Ventral anterior cingulate cortex (vACC) is a highly interconnected brain region considered to reflect the sometimes competing demands of cognition and emotion. A reciprocal relationship between vACC and dorsal ACC (dACC) may play a role in maintaining this balance between cognitive and emotional processing. Using functional MRI in association with a cognitively-demanding visuospatial task (mental rotation), we found that only women demonstrated vACC suppression and inverse functional connectivity with dACC. Sex differences in vACC functioning--previously described under conditions of negative emotion--are extended here to cognition. Consideration of participant sex is essential to understanding the role of vACC in cognitive and emotional processing.
Butler
Tracy
T
Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY 10021, USA. tab2006@med.cornell.edu
Imperato-McGinley
Julianne
J
Pan
Hong
H
Voyer
Daniel
D
Cunningham-Bussel
Amy Christine
AC
Chang
Luke
L
Zhu
Yuan-Shan
YS
Cordero
Juan J
JJ
Stern
Emily
E
Silbersweig
David
D
D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination / Q000502:physiology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000502:physiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology