Midcingulate cortex: Structure, connections, homologies, functions and diseases

• Published in: Journal of chemical neuroanatomy 2016-07, Vol.74, p.28-46
• Main Author: Vogt, Brent A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Cognition; Comparative neuroanatomy; Gyrus Cinguli - anatomy & histology; Gyrus Cinguli - metabolism; Gyrus Cinguli - physiology; Haplorhini; Humans; Insula; Mice; Neural Pathways - anatomy & histology; Neural Pathways - metabolism; Neural Pathways - physiology; Neurocytology; Neurofilament proteins; Obsessive-compulsive disorder; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - metabolism; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - pathology; Pain; Pain - metabolism; Pain - pathology; Parietal; Primate; Rabbits; Rats; Receptors, Dopamine - metabolism; Species Specificity; Stress, Psychological - metabolism; Stress, Psychological - pathology
• ISSN: 0891-0618; 1873-6300
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jchemneu.2016.01.010

•Midcingulate cortex (MCC) has two divisions and is not part of anterior cingulate cortex.•Comparative organization of each MCC division is provided for human, monkey, rabbit, rat and mouse.•Anterior MCC (aMCC) is engaged in both nocifensive and rewarded behaviors that are selected according to feedback-mediated decision making.•Posterior MCC (pMCC) is involved in multisensory orientation of the head and body in space and neuron responses are tuned for the force and direction of movement.•Each MCC division has unique disease vulnerabilities; aMCC for chronic pain, obsessive-compulsive and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorders and pMCC for progressive supranuclear palsy, unipolar depression and posttraumatic stress disorder. Midcingulate cortex (MCC) has risen in prominence as human imaging identifies unique structural and functional activity therein and this is the first review of its structure, connections, functions and disease vulnerabilities. The MCC has two divisions (anterior, aMCC and posterior, pMCC) that represent functional units and the cytoarchitecture, connections and neurocytology of each is shown with immunohistochemistry and receptor binding. The MCC is not a division of anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the “dorsal ACC” designation is a misnomer as it incorrectly implies that MCC is a division of ACC. Interpretation of findings among species and developing models of human diseases requires detailed comparative studies which is shown here for five species with flat maps and immunohistochemistry (human, monkey, rabbit, rat, mouse). The largest neurons in human cingulate cortex are in layer Vb of area 24 d in pMCC which project to the spinal cord. This area is part of the caudal cingulate premotor area which is involved in multisensory orientation of the head and body in space and neuron responses are tuned for the force and direction of movement. In contrast, the rostral cingulate premotor area in aMCC is involved in action-reinforcement associations and selection based on the amount of reward or aversive properties of a potential movement. The aMCC is activated by nociceptive information from the midline, mediodorsal and intralaminar thalamic nuclei which evoke fear and mediates nocifensive behaviors. This subregion also has high dopaminergic afferents and high dopamine-1 receptor binding and is engaged in reward processes. Opposing pain/avoidance and reward/approach functions are selected by assessment of potential outcomes and error