The cingulate gyrus is a region of the brain that, in addition to being involved in the development of emotions and memory, holds many interesting secrets.
The cingulate gyrus, from a physiological point of view, is defined as a convolution in the middle area of the brain that performs determining functions in the activity of the limbic system. Therefore, it is involved in the formation of emotions, decision making, learning, memory and other human characteristics.
If we look at this type of structure from a more evolutionary perspective, a series of exciting fronts open up: the cingulate gyrus (and the limbic system in general) has always been associated with unique emotional responses of the human being. Is this really so? Are we the only animals on earth capable of feeling complex emotions?
If you want to know more about the nature of structures such as the cingulate gyrus and how they condition human interactions, we encourage you to continue reading.
- We recommend you read: “Human brain: its main parts and functions”
What is the cingulate gyrus?
The term that concerns us today comes from the composition Gyrus cinguli in Latin, which translates as turning, turning or convolution with the appearance of a belt. From a physiological point of view, we are dealing with a “cortex” that surrounds the corpus callosum , the largest bundle of nerve fibers in the human brain, which serves as a communication bridge between the two hemispheres.
The cingulate gyrus holds more secrets than could be imagined at first, because it has various sections that meet differential criteria of a cytoarchitectural nature, connectivity and functionality. We present them below.
The posterior cingulate cortex is widely interconnected with brain areas involved in learning and motivation, as well as with areas responsible for mediating “reinforcement contingencies” (for lack of a more exact translation), or what is the same, the correlation between events and consequences. Thus, we are facing a section that is strategically placed in the brain for the evaluation of processes, decision-making based on subjectivity and the motivational significance of events and actions, among many other things.
On the other hand, the mid-cingulate or anterior dorsal cingulate cortex is associated with processes of attention and executive control.
Lastly, we have the anterior cingulate cortex , defined as a functionally heterogeneous brain area that has been shown to be involved in the integration of affect, cognitive processes, selection responses, and certain aspects of social behavior. According to various scientific reports, this area is key to the generation of emotions.
We can understand the cingulate gyrus as a whole as a small “base of operations” , since it receives information or inputs from the thalamus, neocortex, somatosensory area of the cerebral cortex and many other structures (the anterior cingulate cortex communicates with the insular cortex, hypothalamus and amygdala, among others).
In summary, we can define the functions of the cingulate gyrus in the following:
- Process and modulate the expression of emotional nuances.
- Learning.
- emotional vocalization.
- Long-term attachment formation.
- motherly behaviour.
- Onsets of motivationally meaningful goal-driven behaviors.
After all this review, without a doubt extensive and condensed, we are going to relax things a bit by contextualizing the position of the cingulate gyrus in the limbic system, because before proceeding, it is necessary to understand what this general structure is and what its functionality is.
Its relationship with the limbic system
The limbic system, forgive the redundancy, is a brain system made up of several structures (among which is the cingulate gyrus) whose function is to regulate the physiological responses of the human being to certain environmental and intrinsic stimuli. Said soon and quickly, this structure is what encloses the instincts of our species. Thus, we can summarize the functions of the limbic system in the following:
- It seeks the self-preservation of the species through the regulation of homeostatic mechanisms.
- It manages and mediates brain mechanisms integrated in memory processes.
- Implicated in hunger, attention, sexual instincts, emotions, personality, and addiction and pleasure.
As we can see, we are facing a very multifaceted area that mediates different processes and emotions in the human being. Of course, there is no doubt that this is an area widely linked to the management and production of emotions .
The main functions of the cingulate gyrus
Once we have dissected the morphology and functionality of the cingulate gyrus and in turn have contextualized it within the framework of the limbic system, it is time to get a little more philosophical.
1. Empathy and emotions
In the first place, it should be noted that empathy must present a component of emotional connection , followed by understanding and a motor response that involves a commitment to the feelings of another living being. Of course, it is not the same for a lizard to flee after observing how a companion is preyed upon, as for a primate to risk his own life to save the integrity of an unrelated companion. The first behavior supposes a merely evolutionary instinctive mechanism, the second… not entirely.
The limbic system is not only present in humans, as thinkers such as Charles Darwin have already demonstrated its existence in several species and in animals that are phylogenetically close to humans. Instead, many of the emotional responses mediated by this system are uniquely attributable to our species. Curious, right?
Of course, various experiments have shown that, although it is not yet possible to strictly speak of feelings being generated in animals during laboratory tests and various challenges, there is no doubt that a change in the intensity of their experiences is produced in them. This allows us to talk about empathy in the animal kingdom (at least in those living beings with evolved brains), since not all responses correspond to evolutionary self-preservation mechanisms.
Thus, the functions of the cingulate gyrus and the limbic system in general, in terms of responses and cognition, are still under study . Various detractors of the ideas of “animal emotionality” are based on the fact that we are dealing with experiments and data that are highly biased by human subjectivity, since by not presenting a clear communicative capacity, the quantification of the animal’s emotion depends to a great extent on the experimenter who determines it. I watched. This debate is another matter, so we leave it to the reader to make their own interpretations of it.
2. Decision making
Not everything is limited to a strictly emotional and subjective sense, since there is contemporary evidence that the anterior cingulate gyrus, the prefrontal cortex, the orbitofrontal cortex and the dorsolateral cortex are involved in human decision making. This issue is not insignificant, since it is estimated that, annually, 40% of deaths in humans are due to deficits in decision-making in the basic components of self-regulation.
As we have already said, the anterior cingulate gyrus is present in decisions related to positive incentives, as well as in emotional situations interconnected with the results of a selection/decision (ie, feedback). More deeply, this structure participates in the optimization of future decisions based on the previous contingencies received throughout a selection process.
Knowing the exact function of each area of the brain is essential, as it is thus possible to quantify the level of disorder that can be generated by an injury or malformation in any section of this neural network. We must remember that decision-making is not simply based on encouraging us to go down to buy bread or not, but in many cases, we are faced with life or death situations that require a quick resolution . Therefore, the description of the functionality of areas such as the cingulate gyrus are not anecdotal.
Conclusions
As we have seen in this space, when talking about brain structures we immerse ourselves in a complex, vast world full of specific terminology. We need the reader to get a general idea: the cingulate gyrus and in general the limbic system make up both a subjective emotional part and a merely instinctive part of the human being, which defines us both as animals from an evolutionary point of view, as beings individuals with emotions, learning capacity, memory and conditioning when making decisions.
All the data collected does not have the sole purpose of giving the population knowledge about the functioning of their own brain, since understanding the neuronal processes that lead us to act in one way or another can provide perspective, and above all, prevent catastrophic events in non-neuronormative people, that is, with alterations in the neurological system.
Bibliographic references
- Broche-Pérez, Y., Jiménez, LH, & Omar-Martínez, E. (2016). Neural basis of decision making. Neurology, 31(5), 319-325.
- Mejía, DIL, de Yahya, AV, Méndez-Díaz, M., & Mendoza-Fernández, V. (2009). The limbic system and emotions: empathy in humans and primates. Ibero-American Psychology, 17(2), 60-69.
- Platt, M. L., & Plassmann, H. (2014). Multistage valuation signals and common neural currencies. In Neuroeconomics (pp. 237-258). Academic Press.
- Sturm, V. E., Haase, C. M., & Levenson, R. W. (2016). Emotional dysfunction in psychopathology and neuropathology: Neural and genetic pathways. In Genomics, circuits, and pathways in clinical neuropsychiatry (pp. 345-364). Academic Press.
- Yoldi, A. (2015). Executive functions: towards educational practices that enhance their development. Education Pages, 8(1), 72-98.
To the classic question “what do you do?” I always answer “basically I am a psychologist”. In fact, my academic training has revolved around the psychology of development, education and community, a field of study influenced my volunteer activities, as well as my first work experiences in personal services.