Previous investigators have reported that direct electrical stimulation of other parts of the brain can trigger laughter, but the demonstration that anti-anxiety effects observed with
cingulum bundle stimulation can provide meaningful clinical benefits make this study distinct, says senior author Jon T, Willie, MD, PhD, who performed the surgeries reported in the paper.
The
cingulum bundle on the other hand forms dense connections with the frontal, temporal and parietal cortical structures and based on these connections, plays important roles in the implementation of cognitive functions, decision making and emotion (24).
Significant inverse correlations were found between the score on the self-rated version of the apathy subscore of FrSBe and FA measures (p <.05, TFCE corrected) in the left superior longitudinal fasciculus, in the right and left inferior longitudinal fasciculus, in the left fronto-occipital fasciculus, in the left uncinate fasciculus, in the left anterior
cingulum bundle, and in the left thalamus (Figure 2).