One epilepsy patient reported a flushing in his chest and described a feeling of determinedness, like getting ready to drive through a storm. A second reported similar feelings, a response scientists involved in the study called “the will to persevere.” Both patients were reacting to an electric current delivered through an electrode implanted in the brain — put there to try to find the source of their seizures — which happened to stimulate one of the key nodes of a brain circuit known as the “salience network.”
In a rare study involving direct brain stimulation, Michael Greicius, a neurologist at Stanford University, and collaborators say they have uncovered direct evidence that a brain region known as the anterior midcingulate cortex and its surrounding network play a central role in motivation and a readiness to act.
via Wired
