I was scrolling through social media yesterday and saw a clip from this podcast. Specifically, at 46:09 into the podcast. In this section, Huberman talks about a specific brain region – the anterior mid-cingulate cortex. It was kinda late when I came across this, so I didn’t look into it then, but I was consumed by this all morning. I did some reading and have listened to the entire podcast, on which David Goggins was a guest, and I’m a big fan of his anyway, so… win/win.
Huberman started by saying that the anterior mid-cingulate cortex (aMCC for short) gets larger when a person does things they do not want to do. Speaking about this with Goggins was hilarious, because that area of his brain has got to be huge! One thing to note is that Huberman mentioned that this area is highly neuroplastic, which means it changes easily. It gets bigger if you do shit you do shit you don’t want to do, but it shrinks if you don’t do shit you don’t want to do. (pardon the double negative!) Noted. So, I decided to look into this a bit more.
Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor or a neurobiologist of any sort. This is just my interpretation of what I read. I’m going to include links to the articles and studies if you are so inclined to read for yourself.
First thing to note, there is the cingulate cortex, which is divided into the posterior and anterior cingulate cortex regions, which are then further divided. This entire thing is part of the cerebral cortex, and lies just above the corpus callosum, which is the part of the brain that connects the two hemispheres. Back in the day, they would sever the corpus callosum to treat epilepsy and some psychiatric disorders. There is a cingulate cortex on each side of the brain, and each area of that cortex has several inputs from other areas of the brain.
The aMCC corresponds to ventral (more evolved) functions, while the pMCC corresponds to dorsal (more primitive) functions. (PVT, anyone?) There was information that noted that the aMCC was responsible for voluntary, task related motor control. There was also part of another study, that to me, at least, implied that the aMCC was activated in response to physical or emotional pain in order for the cognitive system to decide how to deal with or mitigate that pain.
My mind is reeling right now. I didn’t read or understand everything I found – I will definitely have to go back, read more and re-read a few things. But I started thinking about polyvagal theory, and the ventral/dorsal aspects of anatomy and their evolution, and was reminded of the interconnectedness of the brain with the entire freaking body. It’s easy to lose sight of that, but the connection is so immense and so powerful.
I must admit, I’m reminded of a time in my mid 20s when I considered going into neurobiology. I wouldn’t do so at this point, because I’m already way too far in debt for the degrees I already have, and college is far too expensive to begin with. I do think, however, it may be possible, through some creative research, to create a reading list of books on the subject to mimic the exposure of getting such an education…. and the cost of books is minimal compared to outright tuition!
Here are some links for those interested. And for the record, this is a fraction of what I found. I have a lot of reading to do!
1 – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cingulate_cortex
2 – Anterior cingulate cortex – Wikipedia
3 – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5293144/
4 – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7381101/
5 – https://neuro.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/jnp.23.2.jnp121
A Peculiar Cerebral Tangle 
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