Thank you for clarifying your query!
My Internet wanderings in search of self have led a number of very
interesting theories. It's been a fascinating bit of digging. Let's
jump right in.
THE SELF: FROM SOUL TO BRAIN
In November, 2002, The New York Science Academy hosted a conference
entitled: "The Self: From Soul to Brain." I felt that this holistic
examination of Self ties in quite nicely with your basic question.
Nature's Neuroscience Journal offers a brief description of the
conference. "The Self: From Soul to Brain" brought together a range of
experts in neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, theology and
anthropology, to discuss the extent to which our sense of self can be
explained in the language of neuroscience. A few years ago, a
conference like this would have been considered a fringe event, but
the questions it sought to address are now firmly within the
mainstream of scientific inquiry."
Nature Publishing Group - Neuroscience
November 2002 Volume 5 Number 11 p 1099
In Search of Self (from Google cache)
http://216.239.37.100/search?q=cache:rWp1uRco-90C:www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf%3Ffile%3D/neuro/journal/v5/n11/full/nn1102-1099.html+%22sense+of+self%22+explanation&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
I have located two online summary versions of this conference, one an
HTML summary by Henry Moss, the second, a 19 page .PDF document,
published by attendee J. Andrew Ross. I've quoted two brief excerpts,
however, you'll find a much greater degree of insight in the
multidiciplinary approach to the Search for Self in the documents
themselves. Both documents present bibliographies for additional study
of key concepts. The official Conference Proceedings are available
($115) from the Annals of the NYAS. (
http://www.nyas.org/publications/annals/ )
Implicit Selves
Know Thyself, or, Know Thy Self? The first implies a personal,
first-hand review of who one is, based upon subjective knowledge,
self-awareness, and self-consciousness. The second implies a more
objective notion, a self that can be studied in its own right and,
potentially, by someone other than its owner. Neuroscientist Joseph
LeDoux1, organizer of the conference, suggests starting with the idea
that the self of self-awareness is only a part and perhaps only a
small part of a broader, objective self that is mostly unconscious or
implicit. The idea that there are unconscious aspects of self is not
new, of course, having been discussed by cognitive psychology,
psychodynamic theory, social psychology, and cognitive anthropology
over many decades. Even Socrates, who encouraged us all to know
ourselves, maintained that the human mind is born with innate
knowledge that is expressed under quite normal circumstances, as when
he demonstrates in the Meno that an illiterate slave boy could reason
perfectly about geometrical forms. What has been less considered, and
what LeDoux establishes in his opening talk, is that the unconscious
or implicit aspects of self must be grounded somewhere, and that this
somewhere must be the brain, and, in particular, its network of
synapses..."
The New York Academy of Science
The Self: From Soul to Brain
NYAS Conference, by Henry Moss
http://members.nyas.org/events/conference/conf_02_0926.html
"Question: do we activate the same brain regions to read our own and
other
minds? Neuroimaging studies show that theory of mind activity occurs
in medial
frontal cortex and paracingulate cortex for both kinds of mind
reading. And in
both cases, autistic subjects show decreased paracingulate activation
in theory of
mind tasks compared to normal subjects. So we seem to use similar
resources for
reading our own and other minds. More speculatively, our ability to
read other
minds may even precede and facilitate our ability to introspect.
Evolution may
have forced us to read other minds before our own."
The Self: From Soul to Brain
A New York Academy of Sciences Conference
By J. Andrew Ross
http://www.imprint.co.uk/pdf/NYAS.pdf
(requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
THE SCIENTIFIC SENSE OF SELF
**********************************************************************
I've located a number of articles and resource papers that reference
neurologic research projects into the sense of self. I've chosen the
following as most appropriate to your query:
A pair of complementary newspaper articles on the scientific search
for spiritual meaning.
The Scientific Search for Self
http://home.att.net/~meditation/self.html
Meditation Mapped in Monks
"Scientists investigating the effect of the meditative state on
Buddhist monk's brains have found that portions of the organ
previously active become quiet, whilst pacified areas become
stimulated."
BBC News Online: Sci/Tech - March, 2002
Meditation mapped in monks
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/sci/tech/1847442.stm
The Journal of Consciousness Studies
"A New Multi-Disciplinary Subject?
Over the last few years, research into consciousness has at last
become accepted within the academic community. As John Searle puts it,
raising the subject of consciousness in cognitive science discussions
is no longer considered to be ``bad taste'', causing graduate students
to ``roll their eyes at the ceiling and assume expressions of mild
disgust.''
But why are we interested in consciousness? Most people are interested
not just because of the academic and interdisciplinary challenges, but
because of their personal experience - we have consciousness, we
experience it; perhaps we even think that we ``are'' it. But, if we
are to make progress in studying consciousness, we will have to think
about it very clearly, and engage in serious constructive dialogues
between a variety of viewpoints. And that is the purpose of this
journal."
The Journal offers abstracts of all articles and reviews, as well as
full text of a number of previous articles. I've linked several of the
more relevant below.
The Journal of Consciousness Studies
http://www.imprint.co.uk/jcs.html
Self, by Galen Strawson
http://www.imprint.co.uk/strawson.htm
The Future of Consciousness Studies
Journal of Consciousness Studies, 4, No. 5-6, 1997, pp. 385-8
http://www.imprint.co.uk/editor.htm
How Smart Is a Neuron? by Alwyn Scott
http://www.imprint.co.uk/Koch.pdf
Landmark Brain Research Gives New Insights into Human Potential
"According to Dr. Travis’s research, the continuous experience of
transcendental consciousness—the Self—across the 24 hours of each day
is associated with increased coherent functioning of the frontal
cortex and with increased global alpha power. Brain researchers
consider the frontal cortex to be critical in the control of cognitive
activities and especially in the development and maintenance of one’s
sense of self. The finding of higher frontal brainwave coherence thus
gives empirical support to the description of “enlightenment” as a
state of self-realization—a fuller sense of who we really are."
Institute of Science Technology and Public Policy
ISTPP eNews, May 30, 2002
http://www.istpp.org/enews/2002_05_30.html
The I-Function and Alzheimer's Disease: Where is the Person?
By Eliza Windsor
Serendip BrynMayr.edu
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro98/202s98-paper1/Windsor.html
Alzheimer's Disease: Loss of Self
By Anneliese Butler
Serendip BrynMayr.edu
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro98/202s98-paper1/Butler.html
Understanding of Behavior and the Brain
By Neha Navasaria
Serendip BrynMayr.edu
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro98/202s98-paper1/Navasaria.html
National Institute for Medical Research
The Ghost in the Machine
By Ed Hulme
http://www.nimr.mrc.ac.uk/MillHillEssays/1998/consciousness.htm
BRAIN FUNCTION
**********************************************************************
Have we learned anything new about the functions of the frontal lobe
in the last five years?
From www.essaybank.co.uk
http://www.essaybank.co.uk/free_coursework/2423.html
The Brain's Inner Workings (Video)
National Institute of Mental Health
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/braincd.cfm
Brain Chemistry Overview
http://www.beatcfsandfms.org/html/BrainChem.html
The last paragraph of the above article offers a method to view an
online, profession level, Brain Biochemistry textbook/reference.
**********************************************************************
Google Search Terms:
"sense of self" brain location
right frontal lobe neurology chemistry
brain chemistry
"sense of self" scientific study
I hope these resources fulfill your needs. Your question proved to be
an enjoyable search. If you have any questions about the materials or
links provided, please, ask. I'll be happy to assist.
--larre |
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