Differential engagement of the posterior cingulate cortex during cognitive restructuring of negative self- and social beliefs

• Published in: Social cognitive and affective neuroscience 2023-05, Vol.18 (1)
• Main Authors: Agathos, James, Steward, Trevor, Davey, Christopher G, Felmingham, Kim L, Ince, Sevil, Moffat, Bradford A, Glarin, Rebecca K, Harrison, Ben J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Attention - physiology; Brain - physiology; Brain Mapping - methods; Cognitive Restructuring; Gyrus Cinguli - diagnostic imaging; Gyrus Cinguli - physiology; Humans; Judgment - physiology; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Neural Pathways - diagnostic imaging; Neural Pathways - physiology; Original Manuscript
• ISSN: 1749-5016; 1749-5024
• DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsad024

Abstract Negative self-beliefs are a core feature of psychopathology, encompassing both negative appraisals about oneself directly (i.e. self-judgment) and negative inferences of how the self is appraised by others (i.e. social judgment). Challenging maladaptive self-beliefs via cognitive restructuring is a core treatment mechanism of gold-standard psychotherapies. However, the neural mechanisms underlying the restructuring of these two kinds of negative self-beliefs are poorly understood. Eighty-six healthy participants cognitively restructured self-judgment and social-judgment negative self-belief statements during 7 Tesla functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning. Cognitive restructuring broadly elicited activation in the core default mode network (DMN), salience and frontoparietal control regions. Restructuring self-judgment relative to social-judgment beliefs was associated with comparatively higher activation in the ventral posterior cingulate cortex (PCC)/retrosplenial cortex, while challenging social-judgment statements was associated with higher activation in the dorsal PCC/precuneus. While both regions showed increased functional connectivity with the supplementary and pre-supplementary motor areas during restructuring, the dorsal PCC displayed greater task-dependent connectivity with distributed regions involved in salience, attention and social cognition. Our findings indicate distinct patterns of PCC engagement contingent upon self- and social domains, highlighting a specialized role of the dorsal PCC in supporting neural interactions between the DMN and frontoparietal/salience networks during cognitive restructuring.