TY - JOUR

T1 - Mapping the pre-reflective experience of “self” to the brain - An ERP study

AU - Chiara Piani, Maria

AU - Gerber, Bettina Salome

AU - Koenig, Thomas

AU - Morishima, Yosuke

AU - Nordgaard, Julie

AU - Jandl, Martin

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Authors

PY - 2024

Y1 - 2024

N2 - The neural underpinnings of selfhood encompass pre-reflective and reflective self-experience. The former refers to a basic, immediate experience of being a self, while the latter involves cognition and introspection. Although neural correlates of reflective self-experience have been studied, the pre-reflective remains underinvestigated. This research aims to bridge this gap by comparatively investigating ERP correlates of reading first- vs. third-person pronouns – approximating pre-reflective self-experience – and self- vs. other-related adjectives – approximating reflective self-experience – in 30 healthy participants. We found differential neural engagement between pre-reflective and reflective self-experience at 254–310 ms post-stimulus onset. Source estimation suggested that our sensor-level results could be plausibly explained by the involvement of cortical midline structures and default mode network in the general sense of self but selective recruitment of anterior cingulate and top-down dorsal attention network in the pre-reflective self. These findings offer a deeper understanding of the experiential self, especially pre-reflective, providing a foundation for investigating self-disorders.

AB - The neural underpinnings of selfhood encompass pre-reflective and reflective self-experience. The former refers to a basic, immediate experience of being a self, while the latter involves cognition and introspection. Although neural correlates of reflective self-experience have been studied, the pre-reflective remains underinvestigated. This research aims to bridge this gap by comparatively investigating ERP correlates of reading first- vs. third-person pronouns – approximating pre-reflective self-experience – and self- vs. other-related adjectives – approximating reflective self-experience – in 30 healthy participants. We found differential neural engagement between pre-reflective and reflective self-experience at 254–310 ms post-stimulus onset. Source estimation suggested that our sensor-level results could be plausibly explained by the involvement of cortical midline structures and default mode network in the general sense of self but selective recruitment of anterior cingulate and top-down dorsal attention network in the pre-reflective self. These findings offer a deeper understanding of the experiential self, especially pre-reflective, providing a foundation for investigating self-disorders.

KW - Ego

KW - Electroencephalography

KW - Evoked potentials

KW - Healthy volunteers

KW - Pre-reflective self-experience

U2 - 10.1016/j.concog.2024.103654

DO - 10.1016/j.concog.2024.103654

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 38422760

AN - SCOPUS:85186508464

VL - 119

JO - Consciousness and Cognition

JF - Consciousness and Cognition

SN - 1053-8100

M1 - 103654

ER -