Emotion–Cognition Interactions
Limbic forebrain regions are anatomically positioned to integrate cortical and subcortical processing streams that mediate cognitive and emotional functions. Feedback projections to sensory cortices bias perceptual systems to process stimuli of high significance. The amygdala is critical for learning contingencies in the environment that predict emotional outcomes and for modulating explicit memory processes in the hippocampus. The anterior cingulate gyrus and ventromedial and orbital prefrontal cortices serve as interfaces that link emotional information processing and attentional control systems to guide goal-directed behavior. Dysregulation of the balance between affective and cognitive systems is a hallmark of anxiety and mood disorders.
