Activation of the left VM PFC appears to facilitate two processes simultaneously. The first of those is that it maintains representations of behavioral reinforcement contingencies in working memory; thus maintaining awareness of the consequences of prospective actions (Thorpe, Rolls, & Madison, 1983). The second is that it inhibits amygdalar activity (Davidson, 1998), thus shortening the time course of the experience of negative affect and attention to stressful stimuli.
