Editing Anterior cingulate cortex (section)

==Anatomy==
[[File:Anterior cingulate gyrus animation.gif|thumb|Anterior cingulate gyrus of left cerebral hemisphere, shown in red]]
The anterior cingulate cortex can be divided anatomically based on cognitive ([[Dorsum (biology)|dorsal]]), and emotional ([[ventral]]) components.<ref name="Bush00">{{cite journal | vauthors = Bush G, Luu P, Posner MI | title = Cognitive and emotional influences in anterior cingulate cortex | journal = Trends in Cognitive Sciences | volume = 4 | issue = 6 | pages = 215–222 | date = June 2000 | pmid = 10827444 | doi = 10.1016/S1364-6613(00)01483-2 | s2cid = 16451230 }}</ref> The dorsal part of the ACC is connected with the [[prefrontal cortex]] and [[parietal cortex]], as well as the motor system and the [[frontal eye fields]],<ref name="Posner98">{{cite book |vauthors=Posner MI, DiGirolamo GJ |chapter=Executive attention: Conflict, target detection, and cognitive control |editor=Parasuraman R |title=The attentive brain |publisher=MIT Press |location=Cambridge, Mass |year=1998 |isbn=0-262-16172-9 }}</ref> making it a central station for processing [[Top-down and bottom-up design|top-down]] and [[Top-down and bottom-up design|bottom-up]] stimuli and assigning appropriate control to other areas in the brain. By contrast, the ventral part of the ACC is connected with the [[amygdala]], [[nucleus accumbens]], [[hypothalamus]], [[hippocampus]], and anterior [[insular cortex|insula]], and is involved in assessing the salience of emotion and motivational information. The ACC seems to be especially involved when effort is needed to carry out a task, such as in early learning and problem-solving.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Allman JM, Hakeem A, Erwin JM, Nimchinsky E, Hof P | title = The anterior cingulate cortex. The evolution of an interface between emotion and cognition | journal = Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences | volume = 935 | issue = 1 | pages = 107–17 | date = May 2001 | pmid = 11411161 | doi = 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2001.tb03476.x | bibcode = 2001NYASA.935..107A | s2cid = 10507342 }}</ref>

On a cellular level, the ACC is unique in its abundance of specialized neurons called [[spindle cells]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Carter|first=Rita | name-list-style = vanc |title=The Human Brain Book|pages=124}}</ref> or [[von Economo neuron]]s. These cells are a relatively recent occurrence in evolutionary terms (found only in humans and other [[primates]], [[cetaceans]], and [[elephants]]) and contribute to this brain region's emphasis on addressing difficult problems, as well as the [[Spindle neuron#Related pathologies|pathologies]] related to the ACC.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Allman JM, Hakeem A, Erwin JM, Nimchinsky E, Hof P | title = The anterior cingulate cortex. The evolution of an interface between emotion and cognition | journal = Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences | volume = 935 | pages = 107–17 | date = May 2001 | issue = 1 | pmid = 11411161 | doi = 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2001.tb03476.x | bibcode = 2001NYASA.935..107A | s2cid = 10507342 }}</ref>