The temporal signature of self: Temporal measures of resting‐state EEG predict self‐consciousness
Annemarie Wolff, Daniel A. di Giovanni, Javier Gómez‐Pilar, Takashi Nakao, Zirui Huang, André Longtin, Georg Northoff
Human Brain Mapping October 4, 2018 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24412 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Keywords | Resting State FMRI Consciousness Electroencephalography Posterior cingulate Cognitive psychology Cortex anatomy |
| Citations | 135 |
| Key findings | Private self-consciousness is positively correlated with the power-law exponent, auto-correlation window, and modulation index of resting state EEG activity, and with activity in cortical midline structures. |
Abstract
The self is the core of our mental life. Previous investigations have demonstrated a strong neural overlap between self-related activity and resting state activity. This suggests that information about self-relatedness is encoded in our brain's spontaneous activity. The exact neuronal mechanisms of such "rest-self containment," however, remain unclear. The present EEG study investigated temporal measures of resting state EEG to relate them to self-consciousness. This was obtained with the self-consciousness scale (SCS) which measures Private, Public, and Social dimensions of self. We demonstrate positive correlations between Private self-consciousness and three temporal measures of resting state activity: scale-free activity as indexed by the power-law exponent (PLE), the auto-correlation window (ACW), and modulation index (MI). Specifically, higher PLE, longer ACW, and stronger MI were related to higher degrees of Private self-consciousness. Finally, conducting eLORETA for spatial tomography, we found significant correlation of Private self-consciousness with activity in cortical midline structures such as the perigenual anterior cingulate cortex and posterior cingulate cortex. These results were reinforced with a data-driven analysis; a machine learning algorithm accurately predicted an individual as having a "high" or "low" Private self-consciousness score based on these measures of the brain's spatiotemporal structure. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that Private self-consciousness is related to the temporal structure of resting state activity as featured by temporal nestedness (PLE), temporal continuity (ACW), and temporal integration (MI). Our results support the hypothesis that self-related information is temporally contained in the brain's resting state. "Rest-self containment" can thus be featured by a temporal signature.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on default mode network, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| A default mode of brain function Normal adult human brain | 2001 | Observational study | |
| Resting-State Functional Connectivity Reflects Structural Connectivity in the Default Mode Network Healthy subjects | 2008 | Observational cohort | |
| Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 20 |
| Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls | 2011 | Observational cohort | |
| The precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex plays a pivotal role in the default mode network: Evidence from a partial correlation network analysis Healthy subjects | 2008 | Observational study |
Citations in the library
Cited by 24
- Temporal integration as “common currency” of brain and self‐scale‐free activity in resting‐stateEEGcorrelates with temporal delay effects on self‐relatedness Human Brain Mapping July 22, 2020
- Beyond the veil of duality—topographic reorganization model of meditation Neuroscience of Consciousness 2022
- From Shorter to Longer Timescales: Converging Integrated Information Theory (IIT) with the Temporo-Spatial Theory of Consciousness (TTC) Entropy February 13, 2022
- Temporal continuity of self: Long autocorrelation windows mediate self-specificity Neuroimage May 11, 2022
- As without, so within: how the brain's temporo-spatial alignment to the environment shapes consciousness Interface Focus April 14, 2023
and 19 more in the library
Cites 4
- Default Mode Network Activity and Connectivity in Psychopathology Annual Review of Clinical Psychology March 29, 2012
- Mapping the self in the brain's default mode network Neuroimage February 15, 2016
- Is the self a higher-order or fundamental function of the brain? The "basis model of self-specificity" and its encoding by the brain's spontaneous activity. Cognitive Neuroscience 2016
- The temporal structure of resting-state brain activity in the medial prefrontal cortex predicts self-consciousness Neuropsychologia January 21, 2016