Increased activation in cingulate cortex in conversion disorder:What does it mean?

Conversion disorder is one of the terms used to describe various psychosomatic neurological symptoms that are thought to originate from a psychological conflict Psychological stressors can usually be identified but appear to be almost similar to the severity of psychological stress in non-psychosomatic neurological disorders Recent neuroimaging research provides one rather robust finding of increased activation in the anterior cingulate gyrus. This activation has been explained as a reflection of 'active inhibition' or 'self-monitoring' but its meaning in conversion disorder still remains mysterious In this paper, current theories are re-examined from a neuroanatomical point of view. (C) 2009 Elsevier B V. All rights reserved