Abstract The left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) is a key region involved in emotion regulation and an effective target for repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) treatment depression. Evidence shows that the dlPFC connects with amygdala, emotional responses processing, during regulation. Yet, our understanding of causal regulatory role on amygdala minimal. We performed 3 m...

Results from neuroimaging studies have shown that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) implements processes critical for organizing items in working memory (WM). Based on its role in WM, we hypothesized that the DLPFC should contribute to long-term memory (LTM) formation by strengthening associations among items that are organized in WM. We conducted an event-related functional magnetic r...

Psychosis is often characterized by paranoia and poor social functioning. Neurally, there is evidence of functional dysconnectivity including abnormalities when processing facial affect. We sought to establish whether these abnormalities are resolved by cognitive behavioral therapy for psychosis (CBTp). The study involved 38 outpatients with one or more persistent positive psychotic symptoms, a...

Studies using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of prefrontal cortex to improve symptoms of depression have had mixed results. We examined whether using tDCS to change the balance of activity between left and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) can alter mood and memory retrieval of emotional material in healthy volunteers. Participants memorised emotional images, then tDC...

A dominant theory, based on electrophysiological and lesion evidence from nonhuman primate studies, posits that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) stores and maintains working memory (WM) representations. Yet, neuroimaging studies have consistently failed to translate these results to humans; these studies normally find that neural activity persists in the human precentral sulcus (PCS) ...

Humans can resist temptations by exerting willpower, the effortful inhibition of impulses. But willpower can be disrupted by emotions and depleted over time. Luckily, humans can deploy alternative self-control strategies like precommitment, the voluntary restriction of access to temptations. Here, we examined the neural mechanisms of willpower and precommitment using fMRI. Behaviorally, precomm...

Cognitive control processes refer to our ability to coordinate thoughts and actions in accordance with internal goals. In the fronto-lateral cortex such processes have been primarily related to mid-dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (mid-DLPFC). However, recent brain-imaging and meta-analytic studies suggest that a region located more posterior in the fronto-lateral cortex plays a pivotal role in c...

It has been suggested that the different patterns of brain activity observed during paced finger tapping and non-movement related timing tasks, with medial premotor cortex (supplementary motor cortex, pre and proper) and ipsilateral cerebellum dominating the former, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) the latter, might be related to differing motor demands. Since paced finger tapping oft...

Facial attractiveness seems to be perceived immediately. Neuroimaging evidence suggests that the appraisal of facial attractiveness is mediated by a network of cortical and subcortical regions, mainly encompassing the reward circuit, but also including prefrontal cortices. The prefrontal cortex is involved in high-level processes, so how does its activity relate to beauty appreciation? To shed ...

BACKGROUND Neuroimaging studies of schizophrenic subjects performing working memory (WM) tasks have demonstrated a relative hypoactivity of prefrontal cortex compared with normal subjects. METHODS Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we compared dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) activation in 12 schizophrenic and 10 normal subjects during rewarded performance of a WM task....