Models of episodic emotional memory typically concern why emotional events are more likely to be remembered than neutral events, focusing on interactions between the amygdala and other medial temporal lobe regions. But memories of emotional events can be distinguished by their affective tone and framing. We propose that the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), a region that is increasingly recognized to crosscut socio-affective and cognitive domains, plays a key role in this aspect of emotional memory. After briefly reviewing the role of the dmPFC in the control of behaviors ranging from actions to emotions to social cognition, we delve into the accumulating evidence that its functions also subserve the abstraction of meaning from events and the control of memories, particularly emotional memories. Its role begins during the encoding of emotional experiences, continues through their stabilization, and endures during the retrieval of memory content. At each phase, the dmPFC participates in the integration of affective and cognitive components of memories, setting up networks and framings that either emphasize or de-emphasize emotional content. Incorporating the dmPFC into models of episodic emotional memory should provide leverage in understanding the affective tone with which experiences are brought to memory.
The ability to respond to emotional events in a context-sensitive and goal-oriented manner is essential for adaptive functioning. In models of behavioral and emotion regulation, the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) is postulated to maintain goal-relevant representations that promote cognitive control, an idea rarely tested with causal inference. Here, we altered mid-LPFC function in healthy individuals using a putatively inhibitory brain stimulation protocol (continuous theta burst; cTBS), followed by fMRI scanning. Participants performed the Affective Go/No-Go task, which requires goal-oriented action during affective processing. We targeted mid-LPFC (vs. a Control site) based on the individualized location of action-goal representations observed during the task. cTBS to mid-LPFC reduced action-goal representations in mid-LPFC and impaired goal-oriented action, particularly during processing of negative emotional cues. During negative-cue processing, cTBS to mid-LPFC reduced functional coupling between mid-LPFC and nodes of the default mode network, including frontopolar cortex—a region thought to modulate LPFC control signals according to internal states. Collectively, these results indicate that mid-LPFC goal-relevant representations play a causal role in governing context-sensitive cognitive control during emotional processing.
more » « less- PAR ID:
- 10508340
- Publisher / Repository:
- Nature Publishing Group
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Nature Communications
- Volume:
- 15
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2041-1723
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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