title: Self processing in the brain: a paradigmatic fMRI case study with a professional singer.
abstract: Understanding the mechanisms involved in perception and conception of oneself is a fundamental psychological topic with high relevance for psychiatric and neurological issues, and it is one of the great challenges in neuroscientific research. The paradigmatic single-case study presented here aimed to investigate different components of self- and other-processes and to elucidate corresponding neurobiological underpinnings. An eminent professional opera singer with profound performance experience has undergone functional magnetic resonance imaging and was exposed to excerpts of Mozart arias, sung by herself or another singer. The results indicate a distinction between self- and other conditions in cortical midline structures, differentially involved in self-related and self-referential processing. This lends further support to the assumption of cortical midline structures being involved in the neural processing of self-specific stimuli and also confirms the power of single case studies as a research tool.
authors.affiliation: Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany; Parmenides Center for Art and Science, Pullach, Germany; Moscow Research Institute of Psychiatry, Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: Yuliya
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zaytseva
authors.affiliation: Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany; Parmenides Center for Art and Science, Pullach, Germany.
authors.forename: Evgeny
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gutyrchik
authors.affiliation: Peking University, Beijing, China; Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany; Parmenides Center for Art and Science, Pullach, Germany.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.affiliation: Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany; Parmenides Center for Art and Science, Pullach, Germany; Peking University, Beijing, China; Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. Electronic address: Ernst.Poeppel@med.uni-muenchen.de.
authors.forename: Ernst
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pöppel
authors.affiliation: Peking University, Beijing, China; Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Shihui
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada.
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Northoff
authors.affiliation: Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Lorenz
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Welker
authors.affiliation: Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Meindl
authors.affiliation: Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Janusch
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Blautzik
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D012649:Self Concept; D063346:Singing
keywords: Cortical midline structures; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Professional identity; Self-referential processing; Self-related processing; Temporal processing