Skip to main content
View expanded cover

Handbook of Neurosociology pp 167–182Cite as

The Emergent Self: How Distributed Neural Networks Support Self-Representation

Part of the Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research book series (HSSR)

Abstract

The self has been conceptualized and divided into two main aspects—the mental/psychological and the physical/embodied self. This chapter describes how simulation by the mirror neuron system (MNS) may underlie a multitude of cognitions that constitute the self, including embodied self-representation and the understanding of other’s actions, and how the default mode network (DMN) may represent aspects of the mental self, including autobiographical memory and self-knowledge. Interactions of the DMN and MNS may subserve the integration of self-relevant traits within the context of autobiographical memory as well as future action goals—positioning the self as a “center of gravity” of one’s private and social behavior.

Keywords

  • Autism Spectrum Disorder
  • Diffusion Tensor Imaging
  • Default Mode Network
  • Autobiographical Memory
  • Inferior Parietal Lobule

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-4473-8_13
  • Chapter length: 16 pages
  • Instant PDF download
  • Readable on all devices
  • Own it forever
  • Exclusive offer for individuals only
  • Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout
eBook
USD   109.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • ISBN: 978-94-007-4473-8
  • Instant PDF download
  • Readable on all devices
  • Own it forever
  • Exclusive offer for individuals only
  • Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout
Softcover Book
USD   139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
Hardcover Book
USD   179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Addis, D. R., Wong, A. T., & Schacter, D. L. (2007). Remembering the past and imagining the future: Common and distinct neural substrates during event construction and elaboration. Neuropsychologia, 45(7), 1363–1377.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Aminoff, E. M., Balslev, D., Borroni, P., Bryan, R. E., Chua, E. F., Cloutier, J., et al. (2009). The landscape of cognitive neuroscience: Challenges, rewards, and new perspectives. In M. S. Gazzaniga (Ed.), The cognitive neurosciences (pp. 1255–1262). Boston: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Amodio, D. M., & Frith, C. D. (2006). Meeting of minds: The medial frontal cortex and social cognition. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 7(4), 268–277.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Amsterdam, B. (1972). Mirror self-image reactions before age two. Developmental Psychobiology, 5(4), 297–305.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Amunts, K., Schleicher, A., Burgel, U., Mohlberg, H., Uylings, H. B., & Zilles, K. (1999). Broca’s region revisited: Cytoarchitecture and intersubject variability. The Journal of Comparative Neurology, 412(2), 319–341.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Arzy, S., Thut, G., Mohr, C., Michel, C. M., & Blanke, O. (2006). Neural basis of embodiment: Distinct contributions of temporoparietal junction and extrastriate body area. Journal of Neuroscience, 26(31), 8074–8081.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Arzy, S., Molnar-Szakacs, I., & Blanke, O. (2008). Self in time: Imagined self-location influences neural activity related to mental time travel. Journal of Neuroscience, 28(25), 6502–6507.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Aziz-Zadeh, L., Koski, L., Zaidel, E., Mazziotta, J., & Iacoboni, M. (2006). Lateralization of the human mirror neuron system. Journal of Neuroscience, 26(11), 2964–2970.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Binkofski, F., Buccino, G., Stephan, K. M., Rizzolatti, G., Seitz, R. J., & Freund, H. J. (1999). A parieto-premotor network for object manipulation: Evidence from neuroimaging. Experimental Brain Research, 128(1–2), 210–213.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Blanke, O., Mohr, C., Michel, C. M., Pascual-Leone, A., Brugger, P., Seeck, M., et al. (2005). Linking out-of-body experience and self processing to mental own-body imagery at the temporoparietal junction. Journal of Neuroscience, 25(3), 550–557.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Borroni, P., & Baldissera, F. (2008). Activation of motor pathways during observation and execution of hand movements. Social Neuroscience, 3(3–4), 276–288.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Breen, N., Caine, D., & Coltheart, M. (2001). Mirrored-self misidentification: Two cases of focal onset dementia. Neurocase, 7(3), 239–254.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Bressler, S. L., & Menon, V. (2010). Large-scale brain networks in cognition: Emerging methods and principles. Trends in Cognitive Science, 14(6), 277–290.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Buccino, G., Lui, F., Canessa, N., Patteri, I., Lagravinese, G., Benuzzi, F., et al. (2004). Neural circuits involved in the recognition of actions performed by nonconspecifics: An FMRI study. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 16(1), 114–126.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Buckner, R. L., & Carroll, D. C. (2007). Self-projection and the brain. Trends in Cognitive Science, 11(2), 49–57.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Carr, L., Iacoboni, M., Dubeau, M. C., Mazziotta, J. C., & Lenzi, G. L. (2003). Neural mechanisms of empathy in humans: A relay from neural systems for imitation to limbic areas. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 100(9), 5497–5502.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Cattaneo, L., Barchiesi, G., Tabarelli, D., Arfeller, C., Sato, M., & Glenberg, A. M. (2011). One’s motor performance predictably modulates the understanding of others’ actions through adaptation of premotor visuo-motor neurons. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 6(3), 301–310.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Cherkassky, V. L., Kana, R. K., Keller, T. A., & Just, M. A. (2006). Functional connectivity in a baseline resting-state network in autism. NeuroReport, 17(16), 1687–1690.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Chong, T. T., Cunnington, R., Williams, M. A., Kanwisher, N., & Mattingley, J. B. (2008). fMRI adaptation reveals mirror neurons in human inferior parietal cortex. Current Biology, 18(20), 1576–1580.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Cole, J. (1999). On ‘being faceless’: Selfhood and facial embodiment. In S. Gallagher & J. Shear (Eds.), Models of the self (pp. 301–318). Thorverton: Imprint Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Craik, F. I. M., Moroz, T. M., Moscovitch, M., Stuss, D. T., Winocur, G., Tulving, E., et al. (1999). In search of the self: A positron emission tomography study. Psychological Science, 10(1), 26–34.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • D’Argembeau, A., Collette, F., Van der Linden, M., Laureys, S., Del Fiore, G., Degueldre, C., et al. (2005). Self-referential reflective activity and its relationship with rest: A PET study. NeuroImage, 25(2), 616–624.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • D’Argembeau, A., Feyers, D., Majerus, S., Collette, F., Van der Linden, M., Maquet, P., et al. (2008). Self-reflection across time: Cortical midline structures differentiate between present and past selves. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 3(3), 244–252.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Dapretto, M., Davies, M. S., Pfeifer, J. H., Scott, A. A., Sigman, M., Bookheimer, S. Y., et al. (2006). Understanding emotions in others: Mirror neuron dysfunction in children with autism spectrum disorders. Nature Neuroscience, 9(1), 28–30.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Darwin, C. (1877). A biographical sketch of an infant. Mind, 2, 285–294.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Dennett, D. C. (1991). Consciousness explained. Boston: Little, Brown and Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Devue, C., & Bredart, S. (2011). The neural correlates of visual self-recognition. Consciousness and Cognition, 20(1), 40–51.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • di Pellegrino, G., Fadiga, L., Fogassi, L., Gallese, V., & Rizzolatti, G. (1992). Understanding motor events: A neurophysiological study. Experimental Brain Research, 91(1), 176–180.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Esposito, F., Bertolino, A., Scarabino, T., Latorre, V., Blasi, G., Popolizio, T., et al. (2006). Independent component model of the default-mode brain function: Assessing the impact of active thinking. Brain Research Bulletin, 70(4–6), 263–269.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Fadiga, L., Fogassi, L., Pavesi, G., & Rizzolatti, G. (1995). Motor facilitation during action observation: A magnetic stimulation study. Journal of Neurophysiology, 73(6), 2608–2611.

    Google Scholar 

  • Faust, M., Kravetz, S., & Nativ-Safrai, O. (2004). The representation of aspects of the self in the two cerebral hemispheres. Personality and Individual Differences, 37, 607–619.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Fink, G. R., Markowitsch, H. J., Reinkemeier, M., Bruckbauer, T., Kessler, J., & Heiss, W. D. (1996). Cerebral representation of one’s own past: Neural networks involved in autobiographical memory. Journal of Neuroscience, 16(13), 4275–4282.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fogassi, L., Ferrari, P. F., Gesierich, B., Rozzi, S., Chersi, F., & Rizzolatti, G. (2005). Parietal lobe: From action organization to intention understanding. Science, 308, 662–667.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Fossati, P., Hevenor, S. J., Graham, S. J., Grady, C., Keightley, M. L., Craik, F., et al. (2003). In search of the emotional self: An FMRI study using positive and negative emotional words. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 160(11), 1938–1945.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Fossati, P., Hevenor, S. J., Lepage, M., Graham, S. J., Grady, C., Keightley, M. L., et al. (2004). Distributed self in episodic memory: Neural correlates of successful retrieval of self-encoded positive and negative personality traits. NeuroImage, 22(4), 1596–1604.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Fox, M. D., Snyder, A. Z., Vincent, J. L., Corbetta, M., Van Essen, D. C., & Raichle, M. E. (2005). The human brain is intrinsically organized into dynamic, anticorrelated functional networks. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 102(27), 9673–9678.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Fransson, P. (2006). How default is the default mode of brain function? Further evidence from intrinsic BOLD signal fluctuations. Neuropsychologia, 44(14), 2836–2845.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Friston, K. J., Harrison, L., & Penny, W. (2003). Dynamic causal modelling. NeuroImage, 19(4), 1273–1302.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Gallagher, S. (2000). Philosophical conceptions of the self: Implications for cognitive science. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 4(1), 14–21.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Gallese, V., & Goldman, A. (1998). Mirror neurons and the simulation theory of mind-reading. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 2(12), 493–501.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Gallese, V., Fadiga, L., Fogassi, L., & Rizzolatti, G. (1996). Action recognition in the premotor cortex. Brain, 119 (Pt 2), 593–609.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Gallup, G. G. (1970). Chimpanzees: Self-recognition. Science, 167, 86–87.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Gallup, G. G., Jr. (1977). Self-recognition in primates: A comparative approach to the bidirectional properties of consciousness. American Psychologist, 32(5), 329–338.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Gangitano, M., Mottaghy, F. M., & Pascual-Leone, A. (2001). Phase-specific modulation of cortical motor output during movement observation. NeuroReport, 12(7), 1489–1492.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Garrity, A. G., Pearlson, G. D., McKiernan, K., Lloyd, D., Kiehl, K. A., & Calhoun, V. D. (2007). Aberrant “default mode” functional connectivity in schizophrenia. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 164(3), 450–457.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Gazzola, V., Aziz-Zadeh, L., & Keysers, C. (2006). Empathy and the somatotopic auditory mirror system in humans. Current Biology, 16(18), 1824–1829.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Gillihan, S. J., & Farah, M. J. (2005). Is self special? A critical review of evidence from experimental psychology and cognitive neuroscience. Psychological Bulletin, 131(1), 76–97.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Goleman, D. (2006). Social intelligence: The new science of human relationships. New York: Random House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grafton, S. T., Arbib, M. A., Fadiga, L., & Rizzolatti, G. (1996). Localization of grasp representations in humans by positron emission tomography. 2. Observation compared with imagination. Experimental Brain Research, 112(1), 103–111.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Greenfield, P. (2006). Implications of mirror neurons for the ontogeny and phylogeny of cultural processes: The examples of tools and language. In M. A. Arbib (Ed.), Action to language via the mirror neuron system. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greicius, M. D., & Menon, V. (2004). Default-mode activity during a passive sensory task: Uncoupled from deactivation but impacting activation. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 16(9), 1484–1492.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Greicius, M. D., Srivastava, G., Reiss, A. L., & Menon, V. (2004). Default-mode network activity distinguishes Alzheimer’s disease from healthy aging: Evidence from functional MRI. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 101(13), 4637–4642.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Grezes, J., Armony, J. L., Rowe, J., & Passingham, R. E. (2003). Activations related to “mirror” and “canonical” neurones in the human brain: An fMRI study. NeuroImage, 18(4), 928–937.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Gusnard, D. A., Akbudak, E., Shulman, G. L., & Raichle, M. E. (2001). Medial prefrontal cortex and self-referential mental activity: Relation to a default mode of brain function. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 98(7), 4259–4264.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Harrison, B. J., Pujol, J., Lopez-Sola, M., Hernandez-Ribas, R., Deus, J., Ortiz, H., et al. (2008). Consistency and functional specialization in the default mode brain network. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 105(28), 9781–9786.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Hassabis, D., Kumaran, D., Vann, S. D., & Maguire, E. A. (2007). Patients with hippocampal amnesia cannot imagine new experiences. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 104(5), 1726–1731.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Heinisch, C., Dinse, H. R., Tegenthoff, M., Juckel, G., & Brune, M. (2011). An rTMS study into self-face recognition using video-morphing technique. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 6(4), 442–449.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Iacoboni, M. (2009). Imitation, empathy, and mirror neurons. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 653–670.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Iacoboni, M., & Dapretto, M. (2006). The mirror neuron system and the consequences of its dysfunction. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 7(12), 942–951.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Iacoboni, M., Woods, R. P., Brass, M., Bekkering, H., Mazziotta, J. C., & Rizzolatti, G. (1999). Cortical mechanisms of human imitation. Science, 286(5449), 2526–2528.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Iacoboni, M., Lieberman, M. D., Knowlton, B. J., Molnar-Szakacs, I., Moritz, M., Throop, C. J., et al. (2004). Watching social interactions produces dorsomedial prefrontal and medial parietal BOLD fMRI signal increases compared to a resting baseline. NeuroImage, 21(3), 1167–1173.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Iacoboni, M., Molnar-Szakacs, I., Gallese, V., Buccino, G., Mazziotta, J. C., & Rizzolatti, G. (2005). Grasping the intentions of others with one’s own mirror neuron system. PLoS Biology, 3(3), e79.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • James, W. (1983). The principles of psychology. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jbabdi, S., Woolrich, M. W., Andersson, J. L., & Behrens, T. E. (2007). A Bayesian framework for global tractography. NeuroImage, 37(1), 116–129.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Jeannerod, M. (2003). The mechanism of self-recognition in humans. Behavioural Brain Research, 142, 1–15.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, A. C., Macrae, C. N., & Mitchell, J. P. (2008). Repetition suppression of ventromedial prefrontal activity during judgments of self and others. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 105(11), 4507–4512.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, S. C., Baxter, L. C., Wilder, L. S., Pipe, J. G., Heiserman, J. E., & Prigatano, G. P. (2002). Neural correlates of self-reflection. Brain, 125(Pt 8), 1808–1814.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson-Frey, S. H., Maloof, F. R., Newman-Norlund, R., Farrer, C., Inati, S., & Grafton, S. T. (2003). Actions or hand-object interactions? Human inferior frontal cortex and action observation. Neuron, 39(6), 1053–1058.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, J. T., Aziz-Zadeh, L., Uddin, L. Q., & Iacoboni, M. (2008). The self across the senses: An fMRI study of self-face and self-voice recognition. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 3(3), 218–223.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Keenan, J. P., Nelson, A., O’Connor, M., & Pascual-Leone, A. (2001). Self-recognition and the right hemisphere. Nature, 409(6818), 305.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Kelley, W. M., Macrae, C. N., Wyland, C. L., Caglar, S., Inati, S., & Heatherton, T. F. (2002). Finding the self? An event-related fMRI study. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 14(5), 785–794.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, D. P., Redcay, E., & Courchesne, E. (2006). Failing to deactivate: Resting functional abnormalities in autism. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 103(21), 8275–8280.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Kircher, T. T., Senior, C., Phillips, M. L., Benson, P. J., Bullmore, E. T., Brammer, M., et al. (2000). Towards a functional neuroanatomy of self processing: Effects of faces and words. Brain Research. Cognitive Brain Research, 10(1–2), 133–144.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Kjaer, T. W., Nowak, M., & Lou, H. C. (2002). Reflective self-awareness and conscious states: PET evidence for a common midline parietofrontal core. NeuroImage, 17(2), 1080–1086.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Kohler, E., Keysers, C., Umilta, M. A., Fogassi, L., Gallese, V., & Rizzolatti, G. (2002). Hearing sounds, understanding actions: Action representation in mirror neurons. Science, 297(5582), 846–848.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Koski, L., Wohlschlager, A., Bekkering, H., Woods, R. P., Dubeau, M. C., Mazziotta, J. C., et al. (2002). Modulation of motor and premotor activity during imitation of target-directed actions. Cerebral Cortex, 12(8), 847–855.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Lethmate, J., & Ducker, G. (1973). Studies on self-recognition in a mirror in orangutans, chimpanzees, gibbons and various other monkey species. Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie, 33(3), 248–269.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liang, M., Zhou, Y., Jiang, T., Liu, Z., Tian, L., Liu, H., et al. (2006). Widespread functional disconnectivity in schizophrenia with resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. NeuroReport, 17(2), 209–213.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Lieberman, M. D. (2007). Social cognitive neuroscience: A review of core processes. Annual Review of Psychology, 58, 259–289.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Lou, H. C., Luber, B., Crupain, M., Keenan, J. P., Nowak, M., Kjaer, T. W., et al. (2004). Parietal cortex and representation of the mental self. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 101(17), 6827–6832.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Macrae, C. N., Moran, J. M., Heatherton, T. F., Banfield, J. F., & Kelley, W. M. (2004). Medial prefrontal activity predicts memory for self. Cerebral Cortex, 14(6), 647–654.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Markus, H. (1977). Self-schemata and processing information about the self. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35(2), 63–78.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Mason, M. F., Norton, M. I., Van Horn, J. D., Wegner, D. M., Grafton, S. T., & Macrae, C. N. (2007). Wandering minds: The default network and stimulus-independent thought. Science, 315(5810), 393–395.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Mazziotta, J., Toga, A., Evans, A., Fox, P., Lancaster, J., Zilles, K., et al. (2001). A probabilistic atlas and reference system for the human brain: International Consortium for Brain Mapping (ICBM). Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences, 356(1412), 1293–1322.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • McKiernan, K. A., Kaufman, J. N., Kucera-Thompson, J., & Binder, J. R. (2003). A parametric manipulation of factors affecting task-induced deactivation in functional neuroimaging. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 15(3), 394–408.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • McKiernan, K. A., D’Angelo, B. R., Kaufman, J. N., & Binder, J. R. (2006). Interrupting the “stream of consciousness”: An fMRI investigation. NeuroImage, 29(4), 1185–1191.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Meltzoff, A. N., & Brooks, R. (2001). “Like me” as a building block for understanding other minds: Bodily acts, attention, and intention. In B. F. Malle, L. J. Moses, & D. A. Baldwin (Eds.), Intentions and intentionality: Foundations of social cognition (pp. 171–191). Cambridge: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Metzinger, T. (2003). Being no one: The self-model theory of subjectivity. Cambridge: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miall, R. C., & Robertson, E. M. (2006). Functional imaging: Is the resting brain resting? Current Biology, 16(23), R998–R1000.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, J. P., Banaji, M. R., & Macrae, C. N. (2005). The link between social cognition and self-referential thought in the medial prefrontal cortex. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 17(8), 1306–1315.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Molnar-Szakacs, I. (2011). From actions to empathy and morality – A neural perspective. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 77, 76–85.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Molnar-Szakacs, I., & Arzy, S. (2009). Searching for an integrated self-representation. Communicative and Integrative Biology, 2(4), 365–367.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Molnar-Szakacs, I., Iacoboni, M., Koski, L., & Mazziotta, J. C. (2005a). Functional segregation within pars opercularis of the inferior frontal gyrus: Evidence from fMRI studies of imitation and action observation. Cerebral Cortex, 15, 986–994.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Molnar-Szakacs, I., Uddin, L. Q., & Iacoboni, M. (2005b). Right-hemisphere motor facilitation by self-descriptive personality-trait words. European Journal of Neuroscience, 21(7), 2000–2006.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Molnar-Szakacs, I., Kaplan, J., Greenfield, P. M., & Iacoboni, M. (2006). Observing complex action sequences: The role of the fronto-parietal mirror neuron system. NeuroImage, 33(3), 923–935.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Molnar-Szakacs, I., Wang, M. J., Laugeson, E. A., Overy, K., Wu, W. L., & Piggot, J. (2009). Autism, emotion recognition and the mirror neuron system: The case of music. Mcgill Journal of Medicine, 12(2), 87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Montagna, M., Cerri, G., Borroni, P., & Baldissera, F. (2005). Excitability changes in human corticospinal projections to muscles moving hand and fingers while viewing a reaching and grasping action. European Journal of Neuroscience, 22(6), 1513–1520.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Moran, J. M., Macrae, C. N., Heatherton, T. F., Wyland, C. L., & Kelley, W. M. (2006). Neuroanatomical evidence for distinct cognitive and affective components of self. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 18(9), 1586–1594.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Neisser, U. (1993). The perceived self: Ecological and interpersonal sources of self-knowledge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neisser, U. (1995). Criterion for an ecological self. In P. Rochat (Ed.), The self in infancy: Theory and research (pp. 17–34). Amsterdam: Elsevier.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Nishitani, N., & Hari, R. (2000). Temporal dynamics of cortical representation for action. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 97(2), 913–918.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Northoff, G., Heinzel, A., de Greck, M., Bermpohl, F., Dobrowolny, H., & Panksepp, J. (2006). Self-referential processing in our brain–a meta-analysis of imaging studies on the self. NeuroImage, 31(1), 440–457.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Oberman, L. M., Hubbard, E. M., McCleery, J. P., Altschuler, E. L., Ramachandran, V. S., & Pineda, J. A. (2005). EEG evidence for mirror neuron dysfunction in autism spectrum disorders. Brain Research. Cognitive Brain Research, 24(2), 190–198.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Petrides, M., & Pandya, D. (1997). Comparative architectonic analysis of the human and the macaque frontal cortex. In F. Boller & J. Grafman (Eds.), Handbook of neuropsychology (Vol. IX, pp. 17–58). New York: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, M. L., & Howard, R. (1996). Mirror, mirror on the wall, who…?: Towards a model of visual self-recognition. Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, 1(2), 153–164.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Pineda, J. A. (2008). Sensorimotor cortex as a critical component of an ‘extended’ mirror neuron system: Does it solve the development, correspondence, and control problems in mirroring? Behavioral and Brain Functions, 4, 47.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Platek, S. M., Loughead, J. W., Gur, R. C., Busch, S., Ruparel, K., Phend, N., et al. (2006). Neural substrates for functionally discriminating self-face from personally familiar faces. Human Brain Mapping, 27(2), 91–98.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Platek, S. M., Wathne, K., Tierney, N. G., & Thomson, J. W. (2008). Neural correlates of self-face recognition: An effect-location meta-analysis. Brain Research, 1232, 173–184.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Plotnik, J. M., de Waal, F. B., & Reiss, D. (2006). Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 103(45), 17053–17057.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Povinelli, D. J., & Gallup, G. G., Jr. (1997). Chimpanzees recognize themselves in mirrors. Animal Behavior, 53, 1083–1088.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Preyer, W. (1889). The mind of the child. Part II: The development of the intellect. New York: Appleton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prior, H., Schwarz, A., & Güntürkün, O. (2008). Mirror-induced behavior in the magpie (Pica pica): Evidence of self-recognition. PLoS Biology, 6(8), e202. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0060202.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Raichle, M. E., MacLeod, A. M., Snyder, A. Z., Powers, W. J., Gusnard, D. A., & Shulman, G. L. (2001). A default mode of brain function. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 98(2), 676–682.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Reiss, D., & Marino, L. (2001). Mirror self-recognition in the bottlenose dolphin: A case of cognitive convergence. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 98(10), 5937–5942.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Rizzolatti, G., & Craighero, L. (2004). The mirror-neuron system. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 27, 169–192.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Rizzolatti, G., & Matelli, M. (2003). Two different streams form the dorsal visual system: Anatomy and functions. Experimental Brain Research, 153(2), 146–157.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Rizzolatti, G., & Sinigaglia, C. (2010). The functional role of the parieto-frontal mirror circuit: Interpretations and misinterpretations. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 11(4), 264–274.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Rizzolatti, G., Fadiga, L., Gallese, V., & Fogassi, L. (1996a). Premotor cortex and the recognition of motor actions. Cognitive Brain Research, 3(2), 131–141.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Rizzolatti, G., Fadiga, L., Matelli, M., Bettinardi, V., Paulesu, E., Perani, D., et al. (1996b). Localization of grasp representations in humans by PET: 1. Observation versus execution. Experimental Brain Research, 111(2), 246–252.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Rizzolatti, G., Fogassi, L., & Gallese, V. (2001). Neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the understanding and imitation of action. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 2(9), 661–670.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, T. B., Kuiper, N. A., & Kirker, W. S. (1977). Self-reference and the encoding of personal information. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35(9), 677–688.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Schacter, D. L., Addis, D. R., & Buckner, R. L. (2007). Remembering the past to imagine the future: The prospective brain. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 8(9), 657–661.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Schacter, D. L., Addis, D. R., & Buckner, R. L. (2008). Episodic simulation of future events: Concepts, data, and applications. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1124, 39–60.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Schmitz, T. W., & Johnson, S. C. (2007). Relevance to self: A brief review and framework of neural systems underlying appraisal. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 31(4), 585–596.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Spreng, R. N., Mar, R. A., & Kim, A. S. (2009). The common neural basis of autobiographical memory, prospection, navigation, theory of mind, and the default mode: A quantitative meta-analysis. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 21(3), 489–510.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Strafella, A. P., & Paus, T. (2000). Modulation of cortical excitability during action observation: A transcranial magnetic stimulation study. NeuroReport, 11(10), 2289–2292.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Sugiura, M., Watanabe, J., Maeda, Y., Matsue, Y., Fukuda, H., & Kawashima, R. (2005). Cortical mechanisms of visual self-recognition. NeuroImage, 24(1), 143–149.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Sugiura, M., Sassa, Y., Jeong, H., Horie, K., Sato, S., & Kawashima, R. (2008). Face-specific and domain-general characteristics of cortical responses during self-recognition. NeuroImage, 42(1), 414–422.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Symons, C. S., & Johnson, B. T. (1997). The self-reference effect in memory: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 121(3), 371–394.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Szpunar, K. K., Watson, J. M., & McDermott, K. B. (2007). Neural substrates of envisioning the future. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 104(2), 642–647.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Tomaiuolo, F., MacDonald, J. D., Caramanos, Z., Posner, G., Chiavaras, M., Evans, A. C., et al. (1999). Morphology, morphometry and probability mapping of the pars opercularis of the inferior frontal gyrus: An in vivo MRI analysis. European Journal of Neuroscience, 11(9), 3033–3046.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Uddin, L. Q., Kaplan, J. T., Molnar-Szakacs, I., Zaidel, E., & Iacoboni, M. (2005). Self-face recognition activates a frontoparietal “mirror” network in the right hemisphere: An event-related fMRI study. NeuroImage, 25(3), 926–935.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Uddin, L. Q., Molnar-Szakacs, I., Zaidel, E., & Iacoboni, M. (2006). rTMS to the right inferior parietal lobule disrupts self-other discrimination. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 1(1), 65–71.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Uddin, L. Q., Iacoboni, M., Lange, C., & Keenan, J. P. (2007). The self and social cognition: The role of cortical midline structures and mirror neurons. Trends in Cognitive Science, 11(4), 153–157.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Umilta, M. A., Kohler, E., Gallese, V., Fogassi, L., Fadiga, L., Keysers, C., et al. (2001). I know what you are doing: A neurophysiological study. Neuron, 31(1), 155–165.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • van Buuren, M., Gladwin, T. E., Zandbelt, B. B., Kahn, R. S., & Vink, M. (2010). Reduced functional coupling in the default-mode network during self-referential processing. Human Brain Mapping, 31(8), 1117–1127.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Vogeley, K., & Fink, G. R. (2003). Neural correlates of the first-person-perspective. Trends in Cognitive Science, 7(1), 38–42.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • VonBonin, G., & Bailey, P. (1947). The neocortex of Macaca mulatta. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • VonEconomo, C., & Koskinas, G. N. (1925). Die Cytoarchitektonik der Hirnrinde des erwachsenen Menschen. Berlin: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitfield-Gabrieli, S., Moran, J. M., Nieto-Castanon, A., Triantafyllou, C., Saxe, R., & Gabrieli, J. D. (2010). Associations and dissociations between default and self-reference networks in the human brain. NeuroImage, 55(1), 225–232.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Wicker, B., Ruby, P., Royet, J. P., & Fonlupt, P. (2003). A relation between rest and the self in the brain? Brain Research. Brain Research Reviews, 43(2), 224–230.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Wig, G. S., Schlaggar, B. L., & Petersen, S. E. (2011). Concepts and principles in the analysis of brain networks. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1224(1), 126–146.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Woodruff, C. C., & Maaske, S. (2010). Action execution engages human mirror neuron system more than action observation. NeuroReport, 21(6), 432–435.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Zysset, S., Huber, O., Ferstl, E., & von Cramon, D. Y. (2002). The anterior frontomedian cortex and evaluative judgment: An fMRI study. NeuroImage, 15(4), 983–991.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Istvan Molnar-Szakacs

  2. Tennenbaum Center for the Biology of Creativity, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Istvan Molnar-Szakacs

  3. Psychiatry & Behavioral Science-Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA

    Lucina Q. Uddin

Authors
  1. Istvan Molnar-Szakacs
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Lucina Q. Uddin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Istvan Molnar-Szakacs .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA

    David D. Franks

  2. Department of Sociology, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA

    Jonathan H. Turner

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Molnar-Szakacs, I., Uddin, L.Q. (2013). The Emergent Self: How Distributed Neural Networks Support Self-Representation. In: Franks, D.D., Turner, J.H. (eds) Handbook of Neurosociology. Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4473-8_13

Download citation