Abstract
Over the past several years, the study of self-related cognition has garnered increasing interest amongst psychologists and cognitive neuroscientists. Concomitantly, lesion and neuroimaging studies have demonstrated the importance of intact cortico-cortical and cortico-subcortical connections for supporting high-level cognitive functions. Commissurotomy or "split-brain" patients provide unique insights into the role of the cerebral commissures in maintaining an individual's sense of self, as well as into the unique self-representation capabilities of each cerebral hemisphere. Here we review empirical work examining the integrity of self-related processes in patients with various disconnection syndromes, focusing on studies of self-recognition, ownership, and agency. Taken together, this body of work suggests that an intact corpus callosum enabling interhemispheric transfer is necessary for some, but not all types of self-representations.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 94-98 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Consciousness and Cognition |
Volume | 20 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 2011 |
Keywords
- Agency
- Alien hand
- Anarchic hand
- Brain connectivity
- Brain network
- Commissurotomy
- Corpus callosum
- Self-awareness
- Self-recognition
- Split-brain
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
- Developmental and Educational Psychology