Cingulate gyrus function

For an excellent review of data regarding the complex functional role of the cingulate gyrus and the surrounding structures of the frontal lobe, see Rushworth et al. 1).

Functionally, the cingulate gyrus is part of the limbic system with extensive connectivity to different anatomical and functional areas. Many studies were published concerning the cingulate area and neuropsychological findings 2) 3), functional and diffusion tensor imaging 4) 5), lesion studies 6) 7), and electrophysiological stimulation studies with implanted electrodes 8) 9) 10).

1)
Rushworth MF, Buckley MJ, Behrens TE, Walton ME, Bannerman DM: Functional organization of the medial frontal cortex. Curr Opin Neurobiol 17:220–227, 2007
2)
di Pellegrino G, Ciaramelli E, Ladavas E: The regulation of cognitive control following rostral anterior cingulate cortex lesion in humans. J Cogn Neurosci 19:275–286, 2007
3)
Sumner P, Nachev P, Morris P, Peters AM, Jackson SR, Kennard C, et al: Human medial frontal cortex mediates unconscious inhibition of voluntary action. Neuron 54:697–711, 2007
4)
Concha L, Gross DW, Beaulieu C: Diffusion tensor tractography of the limbic system. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 26:2267–2274, 2005
5)
Mohamed IS, Otsubo H, Shroff M, Donner E, Drake J, Snead OC III: Magnetoencephalography and diffusion tensor imaging in gelastic seizures secondary to a cingula
6)
Hornak J, Bramham J, Rolls ET, Morris RG, O’Doherty J, Bullock PR, et al: Changes in emotion after circumscribed surgical lesions of the orbitofrontal and cingulate cortices. Brain 126:1691–1712, 2003
7)
Nakayama N, Okumura A, Shinoda J, Nakashima T, Iwama T: Relationship between regional cerebral metabolism and consciousness disturbance in traumatic diffuse brain injury without large focal lesions: an FDG-PET study with statistical parametric mapping analysis. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 77:856–862, 2006
8)
Kawasaki H, Adolphs R, Oya H, Kovach C, Damasio H, Kaufman O, et al: Analysis of single-unit responses to emotional scenes in human ventromedial prefrontal cortex. J Cogn Neurosci 17:1509–1518, 2005
9)
Sperli F, Spinelli L, Pollo C, Seeck M: Contralateral smile and laughter, but no mirth, induced by electrical stimulation of the cingulate cortex. Epilepsia 47:440–443, 2006
10)
Tankus A, Yeshurun Y, Flash T, Fried I: Encoding of speed and direction of movement in the human supplementary motor area. J Neurosurg 110:685–695, 2009