ACCIllustration

The part of the brain I am going to focus on for this project is the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), also known as ‘Area 25.’ It is located towards the front of the corpus callosum which is by the medial frontal lobe. Its main functions are of the following: decision-making, emotional regulation and regulation of physiological processes like blood pressure and heart rate. However, there are studies showing that this part also activates when it comes to error-detection or any type of shortfalls, as well as when there is any anticipation or preparation before a task-performance. An interesting fact regarding the ACC is that it can become active even when individuals are unaware of their errors.

How is the ACC and ones memory related? The ACC is necessary for recalling behaviors learned a month or more in the past, so strictly related to ones long-term memory. How the ACC contributes to the recall of remote memories is still unknown. As I mentioned before the ACC plays a vital role in error-detection and this is because location-wise it isclose to the amygdala; a part of the brain that deals with fear and emotion. The ACC plays an important role in reconsolidating contextual fear memory. Another part of the brain that is close to the ACC is the hypothalamus which is in charge of ones basic functions like body temperature, hunger, thirst, fatigue and sleep, these can be indicators of error detection as well. For example, if a person gets nervous their heart rate would increase and their body temperature might get warmer.

I chose to create an illustration of an older woman thinking about her past errors to represent how the ACC works; the older woman is symbolic towards the fact that it is related to ones long-term memory.  The entire page is filled with doodles to portray confusion, and the way the page is packed is a metaphor for how ones life is “packed” with errors, that we may or may not know we committed and of course other happier memories; we associate color with happiness so I chose to do the doodles in a simple black and white. However, there is color in my illustration and this is just for artistic purposes. The errors I chose to represent are very universal so when one looks at the artwork they can find themselves resonating with one or maybe more errors.