title: Where am I? The neurological correlates of self and other.
abstract: Although still controversial, there is growing evidence that information about the self is processed in the right hemisphere, specifically the right frontal lobe. It has also been hypothesized that self-awareness and mental state attribution (inferences about the mental experience of others) are part of a similar neurocognitive process [Am. J. Primatol. 2 (1982) 237]. Here we measured blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) activity when viewing self-faces and when thinking about the mental states of others. We found significant activation in right superior, middle, and inferior frontal gyri when activation associated with self-face processing was compared with activation associated with familiar famous face processing. Mental state attribution, as measured by a computerized version of the Mind in the Eyes--Revised Test, was associated with activation in the right superior and middle frontal gyri, medial superior frontal gyrus, and left middle frontal gyrus and superior temporal gyrus/temporal pole. Self-face recognition and mental state attribution were colocalized to the middle and superior frontal gyri in the right hemisphere. These data support a model developed over two decades ago by Gallup [Am. J. Primatol. 2 (1982) 237] that posits that self-awareness and mental state attribution are part of a shared neurocognitive suite of processing and that neural architecture implicated in processing knowledge about the self is called upon when inferring knowledge in others.
authors.affiliation: Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Drexel University, 1505 Race Street, Mail Stop 626, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA. steven.m.platek@drexel.edu
authors.forename: Steven M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Platek
authors.forename: Julian Paul
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Keenan
authors.forename: Gordon G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Gallup
authors.forename: Feroze B
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Mohamed
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology; D004532:Ego; D005145:Face; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009949:Orientation / Q000502:physiology*; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology