Temporal continuity of self: Long autocorrelation windows mediate self-specificity
NeuroImage May 11, 2022 David Smith, Annemarie Wolff, Angelika Wolman et al. 40 citations
The self is experienced as continuous across time, and this temporal continuity may be reflected in the brain's intrinsic neural timescales, measured by the autocorrelation window (ACW). In an EEG study, participants first recorded an autobiographical narrative, then listened to their own narrative and a stranger's narrative while their brain activity was recorded. They also continuously rated the emotional valence of each narrative by moving a cursor. Compared to the non-self narrative, the self-narrative elicited longer neural ACWs and greater spatial extent and speed of cursor movement. These results suggest that longer temporal windows of neural activity are important for self-specificity, and that temporal continuity may serve as a common currency linking brain and self.