Speaker: Professor Brent Vogt
Title: Cingulate Neurobiology: Region and Subregion Models
Date: Tuesday November 24, 12-1 pm
Venue: AS4/02-08 (Psychology Department Meeting Room)
Abstract:
All neurobiology begins with anatomical localization(s). The designation of an area, region or subregion declares that functional differences exist even before functional studies are initiated. While the Brodmann map of 1909 is recognized for its various deficiencies, functional imaging research continues to rely on this early, pre-neurobiological view of cingulate cortex with its anterior and posterior cortices (ACC and PCC) that are ensconced as “labels” for structural and functional studies. One of its greatest deficiencies is the lack of a vast midcingulate region (MCC) between ACC and PCC. We will explore the cytoarchitectural, connectional, ligand binding and functional rationale for distinguishing MCC from its adjacent regions. The key feature of MCC is its motor output system to the spinal cord from the cingulate premotor areas that engage in feedback-mediated decision making. This contrasts with ACC which is engaged in autonomic regulation and emotional activations and PCC that is engaged in spatial orientation in multisensory spaces and personally relevant contexts. Each of the four regions (including retrosplenial cortex; RSC) are not homogeneous; i.e., they each are comprised of two subregions for a total of eight which emerge from anatomical and functional analyses. These subregions are not simply “labels” but rather models of structure/function entities. The predictive validity of such models will be evaluated by the extent to which particular psychiatric disorders and drug therapeutics impact each subregion; in depression for ACC, migraine, obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and Tourette syndrome for aMCC, progressive supranuclear palsy, unipolar depression and PTSD for pMCC and Alzheimer’s disease for PCC. Further, methylphenidate, Ibuprofen, and ketamine have unique actions in aMCC that suggest mechanisms for actions in ADHD and pain control. Thus, the 8 subregion models of cingulate cortex have been extensively validated with modern imaging techniques and should be a part of all studies of cingulate cortex.
About the Speaker:
Dr. Vogt received his B.A. cum laude from Northeastern University and has worked at the Harvard Neurological Unit where he published a seminal article on limbic pain circuitry. He received a Ph.D. at BUSM in 1979 and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in neurophysiology at the same school. He currently holds faculty appointments at the Institute of Neurosciences and Medicine (Jülich, Germany) and the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology at BUSM. Dr. Vogt is the founder of Cingulum Neurosciences Institute, which is dedicated to exploring the structure, functions and diseases of cingulate cortex. He published the highly acclaimed Cingulate Neurobiology and Disease in 2009 (Oxford University Press) and has published seminal articles on the circuitry and role of cingulate cortex in chronic pain, placebo, hypnosis, Alzheimer’s disease, depression and mild cognitive impairment.
