Matthews Scott C, Paulus Martin P, Simmons Alan N, Nelesen Richard A, Dimsdale Joel E
Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA 92093, USA.
Neuroimage. 2004 Jul;22(3):1151-6. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2004.03.005.
The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) has diverse functions and several functional subdivisions. This study implemented a counting Stroop task that presented incongruent (INC) and congruent (CON) stimuli at two speeds to probe dorsal (dACC) and ventral (vACC) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Eighteen healthy subjects completed the task twice: once outside the scanner while heart rate variability (HRV) was recorded and once during fMRI. In both sessions, subjects completed two runs. Stimuli were presented every 2.0 s in one run and every 1.5 s in the other. fMRI data analysis revealed two important findings. First, by computing differential activation between INC and CON stimuli, a cluster of activation related to response inhibition was observed in the left dACC. Additionally, by calculating the interaction of speed with stimulus congruency, a cluster of activation was observed in the left vACC. This activation correlated significantly with high-frequency HRV (P < 0.02 for CON and P < 0.003 for INC) and represents the parasympathetic modulatory role of the vACC. This study supports the notion of functional subdivisions within the ACC and links the processes of cognitive interference and parasympathetic modulation with activation in specific subregions of the ACC, a structure that is critical for the interface between cognition and emotion.
前扣带回皮质（ACC）具有多种功能和多个功能亚区。本研究实施了一项计数Stroop任务，以两种速度呈现不一致（INC）和一致（CON）刺激，使用功能磁共振成像（fMRI）探究背侧（dACC）和腹侧（vACC）。18名健康受试者完成该任务两次：一次在扫描仪外记录心率变异性（HRV），一次在fMRI期间。在这两个阶段，受试者都完成了两次扫描。在一次扫描中，每2.0秒呈现一次刺激，在另一次扫描中，每1.5秒呈现一次刺激。fMRI数据分析揭示了两个重要发现。首先，通过计算INC和CON刺激之间的差异激活，在左侧dACC中观察到一组与反应抑制相关的激活。此外，通过计算速度与刺激一致性的相互作用，在左侧vACC中观察到一组激活。这种激活与高频HRV显著相关（CON时P < 0.02，INC时P < 0.003），代表了vACC的副交感神经调节作用。本研究支持ACC内功能亚区的概念，并将认知干扰和副交感神经调节过程与ACC特定亚区的激活联系起来，ACC是认知与情感之间界面的关键结构。
