Subspecialization in the human posterior medial cortex

Abstract

The posterior medial cortex (PMC) is particularly poorly understood. Its neural activity changes have been related to highly disparate mental processes. We therefore investigated PMC properties with a data-driven exploratory approach. First, we subdivided the PMC by whole-brain coactivation profiles. Second, functional connectivity of the ensuing PMC regions was compared by task-constrained meta-analytic coactivation mapping (MACM) and task-unconstrained resting-state correlations (RSFC). Third, PMC regions were functionally described by forward/reverse functional inference. A precuneal cluster was mostly connected to the intraparietal sulcus, frontal eye fields, and right temporo-parietal junction; associated with attention and motor tasks. A ventral posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) cluster was mostly connected to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and middle left inferior parietal cortex (IPC); associated with facial appraisal and language tasks. A dorsal PCC cluster was mostly connected to the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, anterior/posterior IPC, posterior midcingulate cortex, and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; associated with delay discounting. A cluster in the retrosplenial cortex was mostly connected to the anterior thalamus and hippocampus. Furthermore, all PMC clusters were congruently coupled with the default mode network according to task-constrained but not task-unconstrained connectivity. We thus identified distinct regions in the PMC and characterized their neural networks and functional implications.

Urgency urinary incontinence and the interoceptive network: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study

“…It is deactivated when cognition is oriented toward a task. 28,29,30 In contrast to the expected deactivation during the bladder filling task, among UUI participants the posterior node of the DMN activated during bladder filling and remained near baseline during bladder emptying. In patients with IBS and in patients with urologic pelvic pain syndrome similar abnormal posterior DMN activation has been linked to increased connectivity between the posterior node of the DMN and the interoceptive network.…”

Human Paleoneurology and the Evolution of the Parietal Cortex

“…Its broad designation includes some inferior areas which intermingle with the posterior cingulate and retrosplenial cortex. All this block, that bridges the parietal lobe with the cingulate cortex, is highly interconnected, but formed by distinct parts with distinct functions, and should be referred to as to posterior medial cortex [Bzdok et al, 2015]. The inferior areas are part of the default mode network and are crucial to functions that are integrated but distinct from those of the dorsal areas [Fransson and Marrelec, 2008;Margulies et al, 2009;Utevsky et al, 2014;Yang et al, 2014;Barks et al, 2015].…”

A parietal memory network revealed by multiple MRI methods

“…In addition, they mainly focus on lateral parietal cortex, with less consideration of medial parietal cortex, which is also strongly linked to memory (e.g., [18,24,25]). Further, lateral parietal cortex is heterogeneous, composed of a mosaic of distinct functional areas, each with its own pattern of connectivity and each with its own functional response profile during memory tasks ( [26][27][28][29], but see also [11,30]). The network we highlight in this report consists of both medial and lateral parietal regions that are involved in multiple stages of memory processing.…”