Continuing to look into the mirror

Neuronugget #1

Let us look at the fascinating neuroscience behind self-reflection and the brain regions involved:

1. Brain Regions in Self-Reflection:

   • Dorsomedial Prefrontal Cortex (dmPFC): This area is crucial for self-referential processes. It’s involved in introspection, self-awareness, and understanding one’s own thoughts and emotions.

   • Lateral Prefrontal Cortex (lPFC): The lPFC plays a role in decision-making, planning, and cognitive control. During self-reflection, it helps integrate information about oneself.

   • Insula: The insula is associated with interoception (awareness of bodily sensations) and emotional processing. It contributes to our sense of self by integrating internal and external cues.

   • Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC): The ACC is involved in monitoring conflicts, emotional regulation, and self-perception. It helps evaluate our actions and behaviors.

   • Posterior Cingulate Cortex (PCC): The PCC is part of the default mode network (DMN) and is active during rest and self-referential thinking. It’s associated with autobiographical memory and self-related cognition.

2. Self-Selective Characteristics:

   • While some brain areas show activity in various conditions (such as reflecting on known or unknown persons), specific regions exhibit self-specificity:

     • Right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (for self-reflection)

     • Anterior cingulate cortex (for self-perception)

     • Left inferior parietal lobe (for both self-reflection and self-perception)

In summary, these brain regions orchestrate our ability to reflect on ourselves, understand our emotions, and construct a coherent sense of self

.My own brain is to me the most unaccountable of machinery - always buzzing, humming, soaring roaring diving, and then buried in mud. And why? What's this passion for?