The cognitive neuroscience of self‐awareness: Current framework, clinical implications, and future research directions
Daniel C Mograbi, Simon Hall, Beatriz Arantes, Jonathan Huntley
Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Cognitive Science December 3, 2023 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1670 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Agency Interoception Metacognition Neuropsychiatric conditions Self-awareness |
| Citations | 17 |
| Key findings | Self-awareness can be understood as an emergent property of neurocognitive processes at varying levels of complexity, explained through predictive coding, with alterations in neuropsychiatric conditions offering insights into its mechanisms. |
Abstract
Abstract Self‐awareness, the ability to take oneself as the object of awareness, has been an enigma for our species, with different answers to this question being provided by religion, philosophy, and, more recently, science. The current review aims to discuss the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying self‐awareness. The multidimensional nature of self‐awareness will be explored, suggesting how it can be thought of as an emergent property observed in different cognitive complexity levels, within a predictive coding approach. A presentation of alterations of self‐awareness in neuropsychiatric conditions will ground a discussion on alternative frameworks to understand this phenomenon, in health and psychopathology, with future research directions being indicated to fill current gaps in the literature. This article is categorized under: Philosophy > Consciousness Psychology > Brain Function and Dysfunction Neuroscience > Cognition