The neural basis of selfknowledge Arnaud DArgembeau University

The neural basis of self‐knowledge Arnaud D’Argembeau University of Liège, Belgium Workshop on Social Neuroscience Gent, 27 June 2013

Outline 1. What is the self? 2. Neural basis of self‐knowledge – Semantic self‐knowledge – Episodic self‐knowledge 3. 4. 5. 6. Default mode network What is the role of the MPFC? Self‐enhancement Self‐knowledge and psychopathology

What do we mean by “self”? Self-as-subject • “I” (James) • Core self (Damasio) • Minimal self (Gallagher) • … Semantic self-representations Self-as-object • “me” (James) • Autobiographical self (Damasio) Episodic • Narrative self (Gallagher) self-representations • …

What do we mean by “self”? • Semantic self-knowledge: a set of abstract representations of one’s personal attributes (e. g. , traits, preferences, abilities, goals, social roles) • Episodic self-knowledge: the ability to mentally relive past experiences and to project oneself into possible futures (“mental time travel”) • These two forms of self-knowledge are dissociable – Patients with amnesia (e. g. , Klein et al. , 2002) – Priming experiments in healthy individuals (e. g. , Klein & Loftus, 1993)

Neural correlates of semantic self‐knowledge Thinking about one’s traits Kelley et al. (2002) J Cogn Neurosci

Neural correlates of semantic self‐knowledge Johnson et al. (2002). Brain • Self‐evaluation in the domains of mood, social interactions, cognitive and physical abilities (e. g. , “I get angry easily”, “I often forget things”) • Decisions about statements of factual knowledge (e. g. , “you need water to live”)

Neural correlates of semantic self‐knowledge Meta-analyses of trait judgments about the self 17 PET or f. MRI studies 25 PET or f. MRI studies Van der Meer et al. (2010) Neurosci Biobehav Rev Murray et al. (2012) Neurosci Biobehav Rev

Neural correlates of semantic self‐knowledge MPFC activity correlates with degrees of self-descriptiveness Moran et al. (2006) J Cogn Neurosci

Neural correlates of semantic self‐knowledge What do others think about me? You are According to David, he is sociable You are According to David, you are You are clumsy sociable clumsy David is sociable You are clumsy Yousociable are clumsy D’Argembeau et al. (2007) J Cogn Neurosci

Neural correlates of semantic self‐knowledge MPFC subserves diverse forms of self-reflection Jenkins & Mitchell (2011), Social Neuroscience

Neural correlates of semantic self‐knowledge Ruby et al. (2009) Neurobiology of Aging

Neural correlates of semantic self‐knowledge MPFC damage abolishes the self-reference effect Task: traits judgments • Self (‘does this trait describe you? ’) • Other (‘does this trait describe Oprah Winfrey? ’) • Case (‘is the trait capitalized? ’) Recognition memory task => SRE (hits self – hits other) Philippi et al. (2012) J cogn Neurosci

Neural correlates of semantic self‐knowledge Preserved self‐concept in patient R: • • Self‐consciousness scale revised Positivity bias Big Five inventory (consistency over time) Metacognition and introspective abilities BUT self‐conceptions are rather rigid and not fully updated

Neural correlates of semantic self‐knowledge

Neural correlates of semantic self‐knowledge Role of the MPFC in semantic self-knowledge • The MPFC is more active when thinking about one’s traits compared to the traits of others • When thinking about one’s traits, the degree of MPFC activity correlates with the self‐descriptiveness of the traits • The MPFC is active when processing different kinds of semantic self‐ knowledge (e. g. , traits, physical abilities, how we are seen by others) • Damage to the MPFC impairs some aspects of semantic self‐knowledge

Neural correlates of episodic self‐knowledge Mental time travel

Neural correlates of episodic self‐knowledge Amnesia: The case of K. C. (Tulving, 1985) Tulving: “What will you be doing tomorrow? ” (There is a 15‐second pause) K. C. : smiles faintly, then says, “I don’t know” Tulving: “Do you remember the question? ” K. C. : “About what I’ll be doing tomorrow? ” Tulving: “Yes. How would you describe your state of mind when you try to think about it? ” (A 5‐second pause) K. C. : “Blank, I guess”

Neural correlates of episodic self‐knowledge Developmental research Episodic memory and future thinking emerge at the same time, between 3 and 5 years of age Suddendorf & Busby (2005)

Neural correlates of episodic self‐knowledge Phenomenological characteristics 7 7 6 6 5 Past events 4 Future events 3 2 1 Near Far Temporal distance Ratings for sensory details Experimental manipulations of valence and temporal distance have similar effects on past and future event representations 5 Past events 4 Future events 3 2 1 Positive Negative Affective valence D’Argembeau & Van der Linden (2004) Consciousness & Cognition

Neural correlates of episodic self‐knowledge Typical task: remembering/imagining specific events (i. e. , unique events that occur in a specific place and time) in response to cue words (e. g. , beach)

Neural correlates of episodic self‐knowledge Meta‐analysis of autobiographical memory studies Svoboda et al. (2006) Neuropsychologia

Neural correlates of episodic self‐knowledge Remembering past events and imagining future events rely on common neural substrates Addis et al. (2007) Neuropsychologia

Neural correlates of episodic self‐knowledge Szpunar et al. (2007) PNAS

Neural correlates of episodic self‐knowledge Cabeza & St Jacques (2007)

Neural correlates of episodic self‐knowledge Neural correlates of imagining self-relevant future events § Personally-relevant future events: future events related to personal goals (Personal Projects Inventory; Little, 1983; e. g. getting married next summer) § Non-personally-relevant future events: future events that are plausible but not part of personal goals (e. g. going to the zoo next summer) § Routine activities (e. g. taking a shower)

Neural correlates of episodic self‐knowledge f. MRI session Max. 5 s Identify the event Personal future Getting married next summer Imagine the event (with eyes closed) 15 s Eyes closed jitter (4 ‐ 12 s) + Daily routine Taking a shower D’Argembeau et al. (2010) J Cogn Neurosci

Neural correlates of episodic self‐knowledge Personally‐relevant future events > routine activities Non‐personally‐relevant future events > routine activities D’Argembeau et al. (2010) J Cogn Neurosci

Neural correlates of episodic self‐knowledge Personally‐relevant future events > non‐personally‐relevant future events D’Argembeau et al. (2010) J Cogn Neurosci

Neural correlates of episodic self‐knowledge x = ‐ 4 y = 56 Imagining personally‐relevant future events Thinking about one’s traits Overlap D’Argembeau et al. (2010) J Cogn Neurosci

Interim conclusion • Semantic self-knowledge – The MPFC is the brain area that is most commonly activated in f. MRI studies – Damage to the MPFC is associated with some impairments in self‐ representation • Episodic self-knowledge – Involve multiple brain regions – MPFC is associated with self‐relevance => Although semantic and episodic forms of self‐knowledge are dissociable, they both involve the MPFC

DMN and self‐related thought The MPFC typically shows decreased activity relative to baseline Kelley et al. (2002) J Cogn Neurosci Moran et al. (2006) J Cogn Neurosci D’Argembeau et al. (2010) J Cogn Neurosci

DMN and self‐related thought Default mode network Gusnard & Raichle (2001) Nature Reviews Neuroscience

DMN and self‐related thought What is going on during the “resting state”? – – Daydreaming, mind‐wandering Remembering the past, imagining the future Attending to bodily sensations and external stimuli …

DMN and self‐related thought PET study • Resting state • Explicit self‐reflection • Thinking about others • Thinking about social issues Conjunction analysis between resting state and self-reflection In the four conditions, no stimuli were presented and no motor response was required during the scans (Self – Other) AND (Rest – Society) 10 8 6 4 2 0 Self-referential thoughts Correlation with amount of self-referential thoughts Self Other Social Rest D’Argembeau et al. (2005) Neuro. Image

DMN and self‐related thought Mind-wandering and self-related thought Stawarczyk, Majerus, Van der Linden, & D’Argembeau (2011) PLo. S ONE

What is the function of the MPFC? • Not self-specific – Familiarity (Gilihan & Farah, 2005) – Memory retrieval and evaluation processes (Legrand & Ruby, 2009) – Meta‐cognition, introspection, and mentalizing (e. g. , Amodio & Frith, 2006)

What is the function of the MPFC? Is the involvement of MPFC self-specific? Thinking about one’s traits vs. traits of other people Legrand & Ruby (2009) Psychological Bulletin BUT mixing of different aspects of self (trait judgments, sense of agency, recognition of one’s own face, name, etc. )

What is the function of the MPFC? Is the involvement of MPFC self-specific? Thinking about one’s traits vs. traits of other people Van der Meer et al. (2010) Neurosci Biobehav Rev Murray et al. (2012) Neurosci Biobehav Rev

What is the function of the MPFC? Review of the social neuroscience literature (Lieberman, 2010) • Mentalizing: MPFC is activated in 33% of studies; dorsal MPFC is activated in 91% of studies • Self-knowledge: MPFC is activated in 94% of studies; dorsal MPFC is activated in 53% of studies

What is the function of the MPFC? Van Overwalle (2009), HBM

What is the function of the MPFC? What about close others? Heatherton et al. (2006), SCAN Vanderwal et al. (2008), Neuro. Image

What is the function of the MPFC? • Close others are often treated as “part of the self” (e. g. , Aaron et al. , 2004) • Perhaps the difference in MPFC activity for self vs. close others depends on the degree to which the other is included in one’s sense of self

What is the function of the MPFC? Cultural differences Self > non‐close other Self > mother Zhu et al. (2007) Neuro. Image

What is the function of the MPFC? MPFC activity for self vs. other correlates with the degree of self‐other overlap (as assessed by the correlation between self‐ judgments and judgments about one’s best friend) Benoit et al. (2010) Neuro. Image

What is the function of the MPFC? Benoit et al. (2010) Neuro. Image

What is the function of the MPFC? Activity in the MPFC at study correlates with subsequent memory performance Benoit et al. (2010) Neuro. Image

What is the function of the MPFC? • Not self-specific – Familiarity (Gilihan & Farah, 2005) – Memory retrieval and evaluation processes (Legrand & Ruby, 2009) – Meta‐cognition, introspection, and mentalizing (e. g. , Amodio & Frith, 2006)

What is the function of the MPFC? Does the MPFC subserve memory retrieval and evaluation processes? • Cognitive operations involved in trait self‐judgments according to Legrand & Ruby (2009) – Consideration of the question (does the trait apply to you? ) – Perception and integration of the stimulus (e. g. , shyness) – Recall of relevant situations (e. g. , I blushed the last time John said something embarrassing to me, even thought I usually do not blush easily) – Comparison or association of these recalled events with each other, which leads to a – Generalization or the formulation of probalistic rule (e. g. , most of the time I am confident and do not blush in embarrassing situations), and – Application of the rule, which allows a conclusion to be drawn (e. g. , I am not shy) • BUT – Trait judgments do not involve the recall of past events (cf. studies by Klein and colleagues) – Typically, trait judgments are made within 2 seconds, whereas the recall of past events takes 3‐ 10 seconds

What is the function of the MPFC? Does MPFC subserve evaluation processes? Passive viewing of words • Self‐related (e. g. , hometown, initials; n = 50, white font) • Neutral (n = 400, non‐self‐related words in white font) • Perceptual oddball (n = 50, non‐self‐related words in green font) Moran et al. (2009), Social Neuroscience

What is the function of the MPFC? Does MPFC subserve evaluation processes? • 2 groups of participants based on their self‐schema (athletic vs. scientific) • Implicit self-relevance task: viewing pictures related to athletism and science and judging whether contain people • Explicit self-relevance task: viewing adjectives related to athletism and science and judging whether they describe the self Explicit processing of schema‐ relevant information Implicit processing of schema‐ relevant information Rameson et al. (2010) Neuro. Image

What is the function of the MPFC? Does MPFC subserve evaluation processes? • 2 groups of participants based on their self‐schema (athletic vs. scientific) • Implicit self-relevance task: viewing pictures related to athletism and science and judging whether contain people • Explicit self-relevance task: viewing adjectives related to athletism and science and judging whether they describe the self Neural overlap during explicit and implicit self‐relevant processing Rameson et al. (2010) Neuro. Image

What is the function of the MPFC? • Not self-specific – Familiarity (Gilihan & Farah, 2005) – Memory retrieval and evaluation processes (Legrand & Ruby, 2009) – Meta‐cognition, introspection, and mentalizing (e. g. , Amodio & Frith, 2006) • Appraising and coding self-relatedness or self-relevance (e. g. , Northoff & Bermpohl, 2004; Schmitz & Johnson, 2007; D’Argembeau & Salmon, 2012)

What is the function of the MPFC? William James “One great splitting of the whole universe into two halves is made by each of us; and for each of us almost all of the interest attaches to one of the halves; but we all draw the line of division between them in a different place. When I say that we all call the two halves by the same names, and that those names are ‘me’ and ‘not-me’ respectively, it will at once be seen what I mean. The altogether unique kind of interest which each human mind feels in those parts of creation which it can call me or mine may be a moral riddle, but it is a fundamental psychological fact. No mind can take the same interest in his neighbor’s me as in his own. ” (The principles of psychology, 1890, p. 289).

Value signals in the MPFC Food Hare et al. (2009) Money Kable & Glimcher (2007) Attractive faces O’Doherty et al. (2003) Charitable decisions Hare et al. (2010) MPFC activity when people think about themselves could reflect the value they attach to the particular conception of themselves that is activated at a given moment

Increasing psychological distance to selves • People tend to devalue distant past and future selves, such that they are regarded as “others” (e. g. , Pronin et al. , 2008; Wilson & Ross, 2003)

Increasing psychological distance to selves • People tend to devalue distant past and future selves, such that they are regarded as “others” (e. g. , Pronin et al. , 2008; Wilson & Ross, 2003) • If MPFC is involved in valuing the self, then MPFC activity should be reduced when thinking about distant selves

Increasing psychological distance to selves Positive trait sociable Five years ago, David was sociable At present, David is sociable 3. 5 s Five years ago, I was sociable At present, I am sociable D’Argembeau et al. (2008) SCAN

Increasing psychological distance to selves D’Argembeau et al. (2010) Social Neuroscience

Increasing psychological distance to selves Ersner‐Hershfield et al. (2009) SCAN

Investments in self‐views • People possess many different beliefs and ideas about themselves and attach more or less value to particular self‐views • Investments in self-views (Pelham, 1991): – Emotive investment: importance placed on a particular self‐view – Epistemic investment: certainty with which a particular self‐view is held • If MPFC is involved in valuing the self, then MPFC activity should correlate with people’s investments in self‐views

Investments in self‐views f. MRI session 240 traits sincere + lazy + 3. 5 s punctual Self-descriptiveness judgments “To what extent does this trait describe you? ” (1 = not at all; 4 = completely) D’Argembeau et al. (2012) Cerebral Cortex

Investments in self‐views Post-scan ratings 240 traits sincere + lazy Emotive investment “How important is it for you to possess or not possess this trait? ” (1 = not at all important; 4 = very important) + punctual Epistemic investment “How certain are you that you possess or do not possess this trait? ” (1 = not at all; 4 = completely) D’Argembeau et al. (2012) Cerebral Cortex

Investments in self‐views Emotive investments x = 10 L L y = 48 Epistemic investments x = ‐ 2 L L y = 62 D’Argembeau et al. (2012) Cerebral Cortex

Individual differences in the value attached to self‐reflection Neural correlates of reflecting on the meaning of personal experiences are modulated by individual differences in the value of self‐reflection (Rumination‐Reflection Questionnaire; Trapnell & Campbell, 1999) Left A Left IFG x = ‐ 10 y = 62 Left MTG x = ‐ 50 D’Argembeauetetal. (in(inpreparation) press), SCAN

Valuing outer aspects of self People’s identities not only include elements that are unambiguously part of them (e. g. , their body and mental states) but also outer aspects of their lives, such as their family, friends, and possessions (James, 1890; Belk, 1988) Kim & Johnson (2012), SCAN

Valuing outer aspects of self Kim & Johnson (2012), SCAN

What is the function of the MPFC? • Still debated • Distinct subregions of the MPFC probably support different processes that intervene in self-representation • Ventral MPFC activity tracks the value attached to self-related contents o decreases with increasing psychological distance to self‐conceptions o correlates with investments in self‐conceptions o is modulated by individual differences in the value of self‐reflection o correlates with the value assigned to owned objects • The function of the ventral MPFC may be to integrate information from various sources in order to appraise and code personal value/significance

What is the function of the MPFC? Degrees of personal value/significance Non-self Self

Self‐enhancement • Most people strive to create and maintain positive self‐views (self‐ enhancement) – – – Better‐than‐average effect Self‐serving attributional bias Illusion of control Optimism about one’s personal future …

Self‐enhancement Thinking about one’s hopes and aspirations (promotion self‐reflection) versus one’s duties and obligations (prevention self‐reflection) Johnson et al. (2006). SCAN

Self‐enhancement Promotion goals > prevention goals Packer and Cunningham (2010), Social Neuroscience

Self‐enhancement Projecting oneself into specific future events D’Argembeau et al. (2008) Neuro. Image

Self‐enhancement d. ACC and OFC might be involved in correcting exagerated positive self-evaluations Negative correlations with the above‐average effect Beer & Hughes (2010) Neuro. Image

Self‐knowledge and psychopathology • Disturbance of self‐processing is an important component of many psychological disorders – – – Schizophrenia Depression Bipolar disorder Autism Social phobia … • DMN abnormalities are widespread across different psychological disorders

Self‐knowledge and psychopathology § Disturbance of self‐knowledge in schizophrenia – Less stable trait self‐knowledge (Boulanger et al. , 2013) – Difficulties in remembering specific past experiences and imagining specific future events (D’Argembeau et al. , 2008) § Multimodal imaging (VBM, f. MRI, DTI) points to the central role of the MPFC in schizophrenia (Pomarol‐Clotet et al. , 2010) VBM f. MRI DTI

Self‐knowledge and psychopathology Reduced MPFC activity when accessing semantic self‐knowledge in schizophrenia Holt et al. (2011) Biological Psychiatry

Self‐knowledge and psychopathology The MPFC does not differentiate self from others in individuals with autism Lombardo et al. (2010) Brain

Self‐knowledge and psychopathology The MPFC and self‐referential processing in major depression Lemogne et al. (in press)

Self‐knowledge and psychopathology Generalized social phobia 2 types of self-referential information • 1 st person: what I think about myself (e. g. “I am stupid”) • 2 nd person: comments coming from another person (e. g. , “You are stupid”) Blair et al. (2011) Psych Res Neuro

Self‐knowledge and psychopathology Modifications of patterns of MPFC activity during self‐processing may underlie the restructuration of dysfunctional self‐views following cognitive behavioral therapy Yoshimura et al. (in press) SCAN

Summary • The self is a multifaceted construct => specify which aspect(s) of the self you are studying • Research points to the MPFC as a key neural structure underlying the ‘me’ or self‐as‐object – Semantic self‐knowledge – Episodic self‐knowledge • An important function of the MPFC may be to process personal significance/value • Disturbances of self‐knowledge in various psychopathological disorders might be due (in part) to functional and/or structural abnormalities in the MPFC

Acknowledgments University of Liège University of Geneva Fabienne Collette Steve Majerus Pierre Maquet Eric Salmon David Stawarczyk Martial Van der Linden University of Southern California Antoine Bechara Gui Xue

Greater MPFC activity in response to negative feedback is associated with decreased state self‐esteem Eisenberger et al (2011). J Cogn Neurosci

What is the function of the MPFC? Similarity of self with other Mitchell et al. (2006) Neuron

What is the function of the MPFC? MPFC activity is sensitive to closeness but not similarity Krienen et al. (2010) J Neurosci

Self‐knowledge and psychopathology Lower self‐esteem is associated with greater differential response to positive versus negative social feedbacks in the MPFC Sommerville et al. (2010) Cerebral Cortex

Self‐knowledge and psychopathology Lower self‐esteem is associated with greater differential response to positive versus negative social feedbacks in the MPFC Sommerville et al. (2010) Cerebral Cortex

Self‐knowledge and psychopathology The MPFC and self‐referential processing in major depression Lemogne et al. (in press)

Self‐enhancement TMS applied to the MPFC reduces self-enhancement Kwan et al. (2007) Self-enhancement score: more desirable traits and less undesirable traits were ascribed to the self compared to best friend