title: The neural correlates of implicit and explicit self-relevant processing.
abstract: Neuroimaging investigations of self-processing have generally focused on the neural correlates of explicit self-reflection. However, very little is known about the neural basis of implicit self-related processes. We utilized the concept of self-schemas to construct a two-task fMRI study that elicited both implicit and explicit self-relevant processes. The sample consisted of 18 participants who were schematic for either athletics or science. In the implicit self-relevance task, individuals made non-self-relevant judgments about affectively neutral scientific and athletic images. In the explicit self-reference task, participants judged the self-descriptiveness of adjectives related to athletics or science. Implicit and explicit processing of self-relevant (schematic) material elicited activity in many of the same regions, including medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate/precuneus, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, subgenual anterior cingulate, amygdala, and ventral striatum. We suggest that processing self-related material recruits similar neural networks regardless of whether the self-relevance is made explicit or not.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563, USA. lrameson@gmail.com
authors.forename: Lian T
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Rameson
authors.forename: Ajay B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Satpute
authors.forename: Matthew D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Lieberman
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D012649:Self Concept; D055815:Young Adult