Secondary somatosensory cortex of primates: beyond body maps, toward conscious self-in-the-world maps.

This article scrutinizes this gap, introducing experimental evidence of human and non-human primates' SII functions set in context with their evolutionary significance and mechanisms, functionally situating the human SII as a primate brain. Based on the presented data, a new concept of a somatocentric holistic self is proposed, represented as a more comprehensive body-in-the-world map in the primate SII, taking into account evolutionary aspects that characterize the human SII and its implication in the emergence of self-consciousness. Finally, the idea of projection is introduced from the viewpoint of cognitive science, providing a logical explanation to bridge this gap between observed behavior and neurophysiological data.
PMID: 31960104 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Source: Experimental Brain Research - January 20, 2020 Category: Neuroscience Authors: Bretas RV, Taoka M, Suzuki H, Iriki A Tags: Exp Brain Res Source Type: research