Preceding attention and the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex: process specificity versus domain dependence.

ABSTRACT: The dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC) has been shown to be involved in attending different states, all including a strong emotional component. It remains unclear, though, whether neural activity in the DMPFC is predominantly determined by either a particular domain, as emotional stimuli, or by a specific process, as attention. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to test the alternative hypotheses of domain- versus process-specificity in DMPFC. Subjects had to perceive pictures from three different domains, sexual, emotional, and neutral stimuli, in both a nonattended, i.e., unexpected, and attended, i.e., expected mode. Our results show DMPFC activation during attended, i.e., expected stimulus perception when compared with nonattended, i.e., unexpected stimuli perceptio

SUBMITTER: Walter M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6870847 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature