Connectivity Between the Cingulate and the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortices in the Macaque Brain
The mysteries of the brain lie in its connectivity. By studying the connectivity between different areas of the brain we are able to understand each specific part’s role in complex processes like learning, memory, and decision-making. Currently, there is a lot of documented research on the connectivity between the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), likely due to the closeness of their functions. The ACC plays an important role in executive function, specifically in the motivation behind goal-directed behaviors, while one of the dlPFC roles is in working memory, which refers to the memory needed to carry out tasks. One theory on their connectivity is that the ACC starts a goal-directed task, but then signals to the dlPFC to carry on doing the task as something in the environment changes, but this is yet to be proved. With more information about the connectivity between the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), the part of the cingulate cortex behind the ACC, and the dlPFC, the connectivity between the cingulate cortex and the dlPFC can be known, especially since the PCC is known to use spatial information to change its response to the environment. To fill this gap in knowledge, I researched the anatomical connectivity between the ACC and the dlPFC, as well as between the PCC and the dlPFC, hoping to find a preferential mapping with the cingulate cortex subregions and the dlPFC subregions. With the macaque as a model, I used CoCoMac, a large database of macaque brain connectivity data, and analyzed the connections between the cingulate cortex subregions and the dlPFC subregions. I found dlPFC subregions 10 and 45 to be more strongly connected to ACC subregions than to PCC subregions. While there were no strong connections between the PCC overall and the dlPFC subregions, dlPFC subregion FEF connected more strongly to PCC subregion 23, suggesting there is a subtle topographical connectivity between the two areas. I hope to confirm this topographical mapping with more anatomical data and some functional connectivity data.