TY - JOUR
T1 - The trans-species concept of self and the subcortical-cortical midline system
AU - Northoff, Georg
AU - Panksepp, Jaak
N1 - Funding Information:
Both G.N. and J.P. acknowledge generous financial support from the Hope for Depression Foundation. G.N. also received financial support from the Salus Foundation. We thank Julian Keenan for detailed and insightful comments on this article. G.N. and J.P. contributed equally to this paper.
PY - 2008/7
Y1 - 2008/7
N2 - The nature of the self has been one of the central problems in philosophy and most recently in neuroscience. Here, we suggest that animals and humans share a 'core self' represented in homologous underlying neural networks. We argue that the core self might be constituted by an integrative neuronal mechanism that enables self-related processing (SRP). Because mammalian organisms are capable of relating bodily states, intrinsic brain states (e.g. basic attentional, emotional and motivational systems) and environmental stimuli to various life-supporting goal-orientations, SRP appears to be a core ability preserved across numerous species. Recent data suggest that SRP is operating via a central integrative neural system made up of subcortical-cortical midline structures (SCMSs), that are homologous across mammalian species.
AB - The nature of the self has been one of the central problems in philosophy and most recently in neuroscience. Here, we suggest that animals and humans share a 'core self' represented in homologous underlying neural networks. We argue that the core self might be constituted by an integrative neuronal mechanism that enables self-related processing (SRP). Because mammalian organisms are capable of relating bodily states, intrinsic brain states (e.g. basic attentional, emotional and motivational systems) and environmental stimuli to various life-supporting goal-orientations, SRP appears to be a core ability preserved across numerous species. Recent data suggest that SRP is operating via a central integrative neural system made up of subcortical-cortical midline structures (SCMSs), that are homologous across mammalian species.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.tics.2008.04.007
DO - 10.1016/j.tics.2008.04.007
M3 - Article
C2 - 18555737
AN - SCOPUS:45849127943
SN - 1364-6613
VL - 12
SP - 259
EP - 264
JO - Trends in Cognitive Sciences
JF - Trends in Cognitive Sciences
IS - 7
ER -