Cortical area · one in each half of the brain
Posterior cingulate cortex
Also called PCC, Brodmann areas 23 and 31
The hub of your wandering mind: memories, daydreams and thinking about yourself.
The posterior cingulate cortex is the back part of the cingulate belt, above the rear of the corpus callosum. It is a central hub of the default mode network, a set of brain areas that becomes more active when you are not focused on the outside world. It is busy when you daydream, remember your past, imagine your future or think about yourself.
Where it is
On the inner surface of each half of the brain, above the back part of the corpus callosum, deep beneath the crown of your head.
What it does
Mind-wandering
It becomes more active when your attention drifts inward, for example while daydreaming.
Personal memories
It helps you recall events from your own life, like your last birthday.
Thinking about yourself
It helps you reflect on who you are and plan for the future.
Inner versus outer focus
It quiets down when you focus on a task, and its balance with attention networks affects how easily you get distracted.
Think of it as the home base of your inner world: when you stop paying attention to what is around you, your mind drifts back here to replay memories and plan ahead.
Works with
- PrecuneusIts neighbor behind and above works closely with it on memory and self-reflection.
- HippocampusIt exchanges information with the hippocampus, tying your sense of self to your memories.
- Medial orbitofrontal cortexIt pairs with the inner front of the brain, including this area, as key hubs of the default mode network.
- Angular gyrus regionThe angular gyrus region is another member of the default mode network it works with.
- Isthmus of the cingulateIts neighbor just below links it to memory and navigation areas in the temporal lobe.
- CingulumThis fiber cable connects it with the front of the cingulate and the memory system.
When it goes wrong
Alzheimer's disease
It is one of the first areas to show lower energy use in Alzheimer's disease. Doctors can see this on a special scan called a PET scan.
Depression
Brain scans often show unusual activity here in depression, as well as in other conditions such as ADHD and autism.
For learning only, not medical advice. If you have a health concern, talk to a doctor.
Surprising facts
- It is a highly connected, energy-hungry hub that stays busy even when you are resting quietly.
- Scientists noticed that a set of brain areas reliably quieted down whenever people focused on a task. In 2001 this set was named the default mode network, with this area as a key hub.
- Experienced meditators tend to show calmer activity here while meditating, which fits with their reports of less mind-wandering.
Where the name comes from
"Posterior" is Latin for "coming after" and means toward the back. "Cingulate" comes from "cingulum", Latin for belt.
Quick quiz
3 questions. Your answers are saved and come back in your daily review.
Which of these is a job of the posterior cingulate cortex?
Show the answer
Mind-wandering. It becomes more active when your attention drifts inward, for example while daydreaming.
Mind-wandering. It becomes more active when your attention drifts inward, for example while daydreaming.
The posterior cingulate cortex is part of which larger structure?
Show the answer
Cingulate cortex. It belongs to the cingulate cortex.
Cingulate cortex. It belongs to the cingulate cortex.
Which part fits this description? "Like the home base of your inner world: when you stop paying attention to what is around you, your mind drifts back here to replay memories and plan ahead."
Show the answer
Posterior cingulate cortex. It is the posterior cingulate cortex. The hub of your wandering mind: memories, daydreams and thinking about yourself.
Posterior cingulate cortex. It is the posterior cingulate cortex. The hub of your wandering mind: memories, daydreams and thinking about yourself.
These parts now come back in your daily review, just before you would forget them.
Practice it and its neighbors in 3DSources
- The role of the posterior cingulate cortex in cognition and disease, Brain (Oxford Academic)
- 19.2 How is Attention Implemented in the Brain?, OpenStax, Introduction to Behavioral Neuroscience
- Effortless awareness: using real time neurofeedback to investigate correlates of posterior cingulate cortex activity in meditators' self-report, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
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