Spatially Adjacent Regions in Posterior Cingulate Cortex Represent Familiar Faces at Different Levels of Complexity

Independent replications reveal anterior and posterior cingulate cortex activation underlying state anxiety-attenuated face encoding

Anxiety involves the anticipation of aversive outcomes and can impair neurocognitive processes, such as the ability to recall faces encoded during the anxious state. It is important to precisely delineate and determine the replicability of these effects using causal state anxiety inductions in the general population. This study therefore aimed to replicate prior research on the distinct impacts of threat-of-shock-induced anxiety on the encoding and recognition stage of emotional face processing, in a large asymptomatic sample (n = 92). We successfully replicated previous results demonstrating impaired recognition of faces encoded under threat-of-shock. This was supported by a mega-analysis across three independent studies using the same paradigm (n = 211). Underlying this, a whole-brain fMRI analysis revealed enhanced activation in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), alongside previously seen activity in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) when combined in a mega-analysis with the fMRI findings we aimed to replicate. We further found replications of hippocampus activation when the retrieval and encoding states were congruent. Our results support the notion that state anxiety disrupts face recognition, potentially due to attentional demands of anxious arousal competing with affective stimuli processing during encoding and suggest that regions of the cingulate cortex play pivotal roles in this.

Dissociable Contributions of the Medial Parietal Cortex to Recognition Memory

Human neuroimaging studies of episodic memory retrieval routinely observe the engagement of specific cortical regions beyond the medial temporal lobe. Of these, medial parietal cortex (MPC) is of particular interest given its distinct functional characteristics during different retrieval tasks. Specifically, while recognition and autobiographical recall tasks are both used to probe episodic retrieval, these paradigms consistently drive distinct spatial patterns of response within MPC. However, other studies have emphasized alternate MPC functional dissociations in terms of brain network connectivity profiles or stimulus category selectivity. As the unique contributions of MPC to episodic memory remain unclear, adjudicating between these different accounts can provide better consensus regarding MPC function. Therefore, we used a precision-neuroimaging dataset (7T functional magnetic resonance imaging) to examine how MPC regions are differentially engaged during recognition memory and how these task-related dissociations may also reflect distinct connectivity and stimulus category functional profiles. We observed interleaved, though spatially distinct, subregions of MPC where responses were sensitive to either recognition decisions or the semantic representation of stimuli. In addition, this dissociation was further accentuated by functional subregions displaying distinct profiles of connectivity with the hippocampus during task and rest. Finally, we show that recent observations of dissociable person and place selectivity within the MPC reflect category-specific responses from within identified semantic regions that are sensitive to mnemonic demands. Together, by examining precision functional mapping within individuals, these data suggest that previously distinct observations of functional dissociation within MPC conform to a common principle of organization throughout hippocampal-neocortical memory systems.

Dissociable contributions of the medial parietal cortex to recognition memory

Human neuroimaging studies of episodic memory retrieval routinely observe the engagement of specific cortical regions beyond the medial temporal lobe. Of these, medial parietal cortex (MPC) is of particular interest given its ubiquitous, and yet distinct, functional characteristics during different types of retrieval tasks. Specifically, while recognition memory and autobiographical recall tasks are both used to probe episodic retrieval, these paradigms consistently drive distinct patterns of response within MPC. This dissociation adds to growing evidence suggesting a common principle of functional organization across memory related brain structures, specifically regarding the control or content demands of memory-based decisions. To carefully examine this putative organization, we used a high-resolution fMRI dataset collected at ultra-high field (7T) while subjects performed thousands of recognition-memory trials to identify MPC regions responsive to recognition-decisions or semantic content of stimuli within and across individuals. We observed interleaving, though distinct, functional subregions of MPC where responses were sensitive to either recognition decisions or the semantic representation of stimuli, but rarely both. In addition, this functional dissociation within MPC was further accentuated by distinct profiles of connectivity bias with the hippocampus during task and rest. Finally, we show that recent observations of person and place selectivity within MPC reflect category specific responses from within identified semantic regions that are sensitive to mnemonic demands. Together, these data better account for how distinct patterns of MPC responses can occur as a result of task demands during episodic retrieval and may reflect a common principle of organization throughout hippocampal-neocortical memory systems.

A tripartite view of the posterior cingulate cortex

The posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) is one of the least understood regions of the cerebral cortex. By contrast, the anterior cingulate cortex has been the subject of intensive investigation in humans and model animal systems, leading to detailed behavioural and computational theoretical accounts of its function. The time is right for similar progress to be made in the PCC given its unique anatomical and physiological properties and demonstrably important contributions to higher cognitive functions and brain diseases. Here, we describe recent progress in understanding the PCC, with a focus on convergent findings across species and techniques that lay a foundation for establishing a formal theoretical account of its functions. Based on this converging evidence, we propose that the broader PCC region contains three major subregions - the dorsal PCC, ventral PCC and retrosplenial cortex - that respectively support the integration of executive, mnemonic and spatial processing systems. This tripartite subregional view reconciles inconsistencies in prior unitary theories of PCC function and offers promising new avenues for progress.