Variations in midcingulate morphology are related to ERP indices of cognitive control

Abstract

The midcingulate cortex (MCC; often somewhat imprecisely referred to as dorsal or cognitive part of the anterior cingulate cortex or dACC) is a core region contributing to cognitive control. Neuroanatomical deviations in the midcingulate region have been observed in a variety of mental disorders. Even in healthy subjects a high degree of morphological variability is seen, for example concerning the degree of anterior midcingulate fissurization. To investigate the relationship between anterior midcingulate morphology and function, individuals with a leftward midcingulate folding asymmetry (LEFT) were compared to individuals showing a lower degree of fissurization or a rightward asymmetric folding (REST). Data from two experiments, a masked Stroop paradigm and a combined go/no-go and stop-signal task, are reported. With the masked Stroop task, LEFT subjects revealed a better processing of incongruent Stroop stimuli when compared to REST subjects. This was reflected in both augmented N400 responses as well as significantly higher accuracy scores. In addition, similar effects were found with event-related potentials from the combined go/no-go and stop-signal task. Here, the N200 but not the P300, which have been associated with conflict-related and evaluative processing stages, respectively, was found to be significantly increased with LEFT subjects. The results of this study foster an association of midcingulate fissurization with differences in behavior and neurophysiological functioning related to cognitive control.