Cortico-Limbic Interactions Mediate Adaptive and Maladaptive Responses Relevant to Psychopathology

Abstract

Cortico-limbic circuits provide a substrate for adaptive behavioral and emotional responses. However, dysfunction of these circuits can result in maladaptive responses that are associated with psychopathology. The prefrontal-limbic pathways are of particular interest because they facilitate interactions among emotion, cognition, and decision-making functions, all of which are affected in psychiatric disorders. Regulatory aspects of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) are especially relevant to human psychopathology, as the PFC, in addition to its functions, is more recent from an evolutionary perspective and is considerably more complex in human and nonhuman primates compared with other species. This review provides a neuroanatomical and functional perspective of selected regions of the limbic system, the medial temporal lobe structures-the hippocampus and amygdala as well as regions of the PFC. Beyond the specific brain regions, emphasis is placed on the structure and function of critical PFC-limbic circuits, linking alterations in the processing of information across these pathways to the pathophysiology and psychopathology of various psychiatric illnesses.

Associations between childhood family emotional health, fronto-limbic grey matter volume, and saliva 5mC in young adulthood

“…Due to the dearth of research surrounding the potential effects of 5mC and ASEs (independently or in causal pathway models) on fronto-limbic brain region volume variability, and in order to avoid omission of hemisphere-specific effects by taking the mean of hemisphere volumes, hemisphere-specific amygdala, hippocampus, dlPFC, and mPFC volume measures were analyzed. Volume measurements of dlPFC and mPFC were chosen as outcome variables from the frontal cortex due to the opposing nature of their afferent and efferent projections to hippocampus and amygdala, and their functional relationships with each region [ 8 ]. To compare differences between hemisphere volumes of mPFC, dlPFC, amygdala, and hippocampus, we performed paired sample t -tests of each brain region.…”

“…prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and amygdala). These brain regions support threat, reward, executive control, memory, and adaptive behavioral/emotional responses, among others [ 8 ]. Importantly, these functions are impaired in numerous affective and stress-related mental illnesses [ 9 – 12 ].…”

Functional Connectivity of the Visual Cortex Differentiates Anxiety Comorbidity From Episodic Migraineurs Without Aura

“…Migraine and anxiety are both affected by sensitization of the central nervous system and are more sensitive to extrinsic stimuli. In addition, previous studies proved the hypothesis that migraine and psychiatric disorders may share common central nervous circuits, such as the neurolimbic network [26] and the cortico-limbic circuit [27] underlying vulnerably to nociceptive and affective stimuli [28]. Given the high comorbidity of anxiety and depression in migraine patients, it would be reasonable to consider that certain features of migraine may in uence the association with anxiety.…”

The Implications of Motor and Cognitive Inhibition for Hot and Cool Executive Functions: The Case of Quadrato Motor Training

“…They are not triggered but created. Because the limbic cortices are strongly interconnected and position in hierarchical cortical information flow, they can contribute to the neural basis of conscious access and may be a source of emotional experience and influence the coordination and regulation of cognitive-emotional processes (Chanes and Barrett, 2016;Kovner et al, 2019; for extensive reading see Barrett, 2017;LeDoux and Brown, 2017). The QMT-associated increase in limbic-frontal functional connectivity may reflect its effectiveness in integrating the "coolest" of cognitive functions with the "hottest."…”

“…Notably, QMT has been found to increase white matter integrity in several tracts [e.g., superior longitudinal fasciculi (SLF) and uncinate fasciculi (UF); Piervincenzi et al, 2017] that connect the PFC with the medial temporal lobe (Kovner et al, 2019), which is associated with numerous disorders of maladaptive behavior and low emotional control, including obsessive-compulsive disorder and PTSD (Jenkins et al, 2016). Further, enhanced SLF white matter integrity was positively associated with improvements in ideational flexibility (Ben-Soussan et al, 2015a) and general self-efficacy (Piervincenzi et al, 2017).…”