Self-Positivity or Self-Negativity as a Function of the Medial Prefrontal Cortex

Self and emotions are key motivational factors of a person strivings for health well-being. Understanding neural mechanisms supporting the relationship between these bear far-reaching implications mental disorders. Recent work indicates substantial overlap self-relevant emotion information processing has proposed medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) as one shared signature. However, precise cognitive represented by MPFC in investigations self- emotion-related largely unknown. Here we examined whether underpinnings self-related link to positive or negative emotions. We collected fMRI data test distinct circuits while participants performed personal (self, friend, stranger) (happy, sad, neutral) associative matching tasks. By exploiting tight control over that determine effects self-relevance (positive: Happy vs. neutral; negative: Sad neutral), our univariate analysis revealed ventral part (vmPFC), which established involvement self-prioritisation effects, was not recruited prioritisation effect. In contrast, there were no differences brain activity emotion- self-prioritisation. These results replicated both region interest (ROI)-based vmPFC seed- voxel functional connectivity rest brain. The suggest self tightly linked together, plays large role discriminating relation self-relevance.