Selfhood triumvirate: From phenomenology to brain activity and back again.

Selfhood triumvirate: From phenomenology to brain activity and back again.
Conscious Cogn. 2020 Oct 21;86:103031
Authors: Fingelkurts AA, Fingelkurts AA, Kallio-Tamminen T
Abstract
Recently, a three-dimensional construct model for complex experiential Selfhood has been proposed (Fingelkurts, Fingelkurts, & Kallio-Tamminen, 2016b,c). According to this model, three specific subnets (or modules) of the brain self-referential network (SRN) are responsible for the manifestation of three aspects/features of the subjective sense of Selfhood. Follow up multiple studies established a tight relation between alterations in the functional integrity of the triad of SRN modules and related to them three aspects/features of the sense of self; however, the causality of this relation is yet to be shown. In this article we approached the question of causality by exploring functional integrity within the three SRN modules that are thought to underlie the three phenomenal components of Selfhood while these components were manipulated mentally by experienced meditators in a controlled and independent manner. Participants were requested, in a block-randomised manner, to mentally induce states representing either increased (up-regulation) or decreased (down-regulation) sense of (a) witnessing agency ("Self"), or (b) body representational-emotional agency ("Me"), or (c) reflective/narrative agency ("I"), while their brain activity was recorded by an ele...

Source: Consciousness and Cognition - October 21, 2020 Category: Neurology Authors: Fingelkurts AA, Fingelkurts AA, Kallio-Tamminen T Tags: Conscious Cogn Source Type: research