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

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.