Figure 1.

Schematic representation of the function of the vMPFC according to the valuation hypothesis. The vMPFC may represent the personal value or significance of various types of information, not only stimuli from the external and internal environment (i.e., sensory and interoceptive input) but also internally generated mental contents (e.g., thoughts, images, memories), including self-representations. Personal significance is processed along a continuum, such that stimuli and mental contents are assigned degrees of significance.