Understanding the neural bases of bodily self-consciousness: recent achievements and main challenges
Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience June 19, 2023 Zoé Dary, C. Lopez
Bodily self-consciousness (BSC)—the sense of having a body and being located in it—depends on bodily experiences like self-location, body ownership, agency, and first-person perspective, as well as on multisensory integration. This review summarizes new insights into BSC's neural bases, including the role of interoceptive signals and overlap with general conscious experience and the cognitive self. It identifies challenges and future directions, notably the need for cross-talk between neuroscience subdisciplines, research in animal models to decipher neural networks and neurotransmitter systems, more causal evidence for specific brain areas, and studies of interindividual differences in BSC.