Neural representations of self versus other: visual-spatial perspective taking and agency in a virtual ball-tossing game
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Neural representations of self versus other: visual-spatial perspective taking and agency in a virtual ball-tossing game. / David, Nicole; Bewernick, Bettina H; Cohen, Michael X; Newen, Albert; Lux, Silke; Fink, Gereon R; Shah, N Jon; Vogeley, Kai.
in: J COGNITIVE NEUROSCI, Jahrgang 18, Nr. 6, 06.2006, S. 898-910.Publikationen: SCORING: Beitrag in Fachzeitschrift/Zeitung › SCORING: Zeitschriftenaufsatz › Forschung › Begutachtung
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Neural representations of self versus other: visual-spatial perspective taking and agency in a virtual ball-tossing game
AU - David, Nicole
AU - Bewernick, Bettina H
AU - Cohen, Michael X
AU - Newen, Albert
AU - Lux, Silke
AU - Fink, Gereon R
AU - Shah, N Jon
AU - Vogeley, Kai
PY - 2006/6
Y1 - 2006/6
N2 - Human self-consciousness relies on the ability to distinguish between oneself and others. We sought to explore the neural correlates involved in self-other representations by investigating two critical processes: perspective taking and agency. Although recent research has shed light on the neural processes underlying these phenomena, little is known about how they overlap or interact at the neural level. In a two-factorial functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment, participants played a ball-tossing game with two virtual characters ("avatars"). During an active/agency (ACT) task, subjects threw a ball to one of the avatars by pressing a button. During a passive/nonagency (PAS) task, they indicated which of the other avatars threw the ball. Both tasks were performed from a first-person perspective (1PP), in which subjects interacted from their own perspective, and a third-person perspective (3PP), in which subjects interacted from the perspective of an avatar with another location in space. fMRI analyses revealed overlapping activity in medial prefrontal regions associated with representations of one's own perspective and actions (1PP and ACT), and overlapping activity in temporal-occipital, premotor, and inferior frontal, as well as posterior parietal regions associated with representation of others' perspectives and actions (3PP and PAS). These findings provide evidence for distinct neural substrates underlying representations of the self and others and provide support for the idea that the medial prefrontal cortex crucially contributes to a neural basis of the self. The lack of a statistically significant interaction suggests that perspective taking and agency represent independent constituents of self-consciousness.
AB - Human self-consciousness relies on the ability to distinguish between oneself and others. We sought to explore the neural correlates involved in self-other representations by investigating two critical processes: perspective taking and agency. Although recent research has shed light on the neural processes underlying these phenomena, little is known about how they overlap or interact at the neural level. In a two-factorial functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment, participants played a ball-tossing game with two virtual characters ("avatars"). During an active/agency (ACT) task, subjects threw a ball to one of the avatars by pressing a button. During a passive/nonagency (PAS) task, they indicated which of the other avatars threw the ball. Both tasks were performed from a first-person perspective (1PP), in which subjects interacted from their own perspective, and a third-person perspective (3PP), in which subjects interacted from the perspective of an avatar with another location in space. fMRI analyses revealed overlapping activity in medial prefrontal regions associated with representations of one's own perspective and actions (1PP and ACT), and overlapping activity in temporal-occipital, premotor, and inferior frontal, as well as posterior parietal regions associated with representation of others' perspectives and actions (3PP and PAS). These findings provide evidence for distinct neural substrates underlying representations of the self and others and provide support for the idea that the medial prefrontal cortex crucially contributes to a neural basis of the self. The lack of a statistically significant interaction suggests that perspective taking and agency represent independent constituents of self-consciousness.
KW - Adult
KW - Brain Mapping
KW - Cerebral Cortex
KW - Consciousness
KW - Humans
KW - Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
KW - Interpersonal Relations
KW - Magnetic Resonance Imaging
KW - Male
KW - Oxygen
KW - Photic Stimulation
KW - Psychomotor Performance
KW - Reaction Time
KW - Self Concept
KW - Space Perception
U2 - 10.1162/jocn.2006.18.6.898
DO - 10.1162/jocn.2006.18.6.898
M3 - SCORING: Journal article
C2 - 16839298
VL - 18
SP - 898
EP - 910
JO - J COGNITIVE NEUROSCI
JF - J COGNITIVE NEUROSCI
SN - 0898-929X
IS - 6
ER -