Anatomy of Self Awareness

I have been talking about Self Awareness as a concept for quite some time, but even when I explain it, it sometimes feels it is a concept away from us which means, I am a person with physical existence, my awareness is rather detached, kind of out of body experience. 

So let us quickly understand what part of our brain is responsible for this self awareness. 

Neuroscientists have believed that three brain regions are critical for self-awareness: the insular cortex, the anterior cingulate cortex, and the medial prefrontal cortex.

• The anterior cingulate cortex is the connection between rational and emotional, i.e. prefrontal cortex and the limbic brain. Naturally, it is the region which is helping us figure out why do we act the way we do?
• Insular Cortex controls motor response and interpersonal behaviour. 
• Medial Prefrontal Cortex mediates decision making

 

However, some studies recently revealed that it is more a product of a diffuse patchwork of pathways in the brain—including other regions—rather than confined to specific areas The roots of Human Self Awareness.

Patchwork or Pathways- From a layperson perspective, this information might not be relevant but sometimes when we hear people telling us to practice mindfulness, and meditation, it does help to know how these are affecting our physical system. Let us look at an example. 

Mindfulness meditation is believed to be able to regulate negative thoughts and decrease emotional reactivity through these regions of the brain by increasing blood flow towards these parts Anterior Cingulate cortex and Insular Cortex. 

This makes it easier for us to accept or understand the level of self-awareness we are in and where we can go from here.

Understanding your brain and its functions is the first step to really making sense of how our brain works.