The will to persevere induced by electrical stimulation of the human cingulate gyrus.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Case series of two neurosurgical patients undergoing intracranial electrical stimulation
PubMed 24316296 · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2013.10.057
What was done
Direct electrical stimulation was delivered to the anterior midcingulate cortex in two patients. Investigators recorded autonomic changes, collected first-person subjective accounts during stimulation, and performed seed-based resting-state functional connectivity analysis from the stimulation sites.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical metrics or statistical values. Qualitatively, electrical charge delivery to the anterior midcingulate cortex induced autonomic changes, an anticipation of an imminent challenge, and a determined attitude to overcome it. Connectivity analysis linked the stimulation site to a distributed network including frontoinsular, frontopolar, and subcortical regions.
Why it matters
This report provides direct human causal evidence linking focal activation of the anterior midcingulate network to the subjective drive to persevere through difficulty.
Limits
The sample size is limited to two patients undergoing invasive clinical monitoring. The abstract provides no quantitative data, sham-control procedures, or blinding, relying on descriptive subjective self-reports.
Cited by
- supports Direct electrical stimulation of the anterior midcingulate cortex evokes in patients a subjective feeling of an impending challenge and the determination to persevere through it.