Neuroscience of Self Reflection

You know when you did something that you regretted or knew was wrong, and you start wondering why the heck you did it?

Why you snapped at someone you love. Why you keep making the same choice even when you know better. Why a comment from a stranger rolled right off you, but the same comment from your friend took you out for the rest of the day.

You probably came up with an explanation pretty fast. Our brains are good at that – handing you a reason, a story, an explanation, almost instantly. It felt true, like truly understanding yourself.

But… was it right?

For thousands of years, we’ve been told the path to wellness and peace is to “know thyself.” Look inward, reflect, journal it out. And many of us have tried.

But almost nobody stops to ask the question underneath all of it: is the story your brain hands you the whole truth of who you are… or just the loudest one?

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RESOURCES

• The Meaning of Introspection: Introspection, Scientific Psychology and Neuroscience — H.G. Callaway
• On Looking Inward: Revisiting the Role of Introspection in Neuroscientific and Psychiatric Research — Johan A. den Boer, A.A.T. Simone Reinders, and Gerrit Glas
• The Neuroscience Behind Creative Journaling — Maria Fabiani
• The Brain Mechanisms of Conscious Access and Introspection — Stanislas Dehaene
• Neurophenomenology – The Case of Studying Self
• Boundaries With Meditators — Aviva Berkovich-Ohana, Yair Dor-Ziderman, Fynn-Mathis Trautwein, Yoav Schweitzer, Ohad Nave, Stephen Fulder, and Yochai Ataria
• Mindful Well-being: A Review on the Effects of Journaling and Meditation — Natalie Khoury and Melissa Armenta
• What Introspection Has to Offer, and Where Its Limits Lie — Victor A. F. Lamme
• Emotion Introspection and Regulation in Depression — Uwe Herwig, Sarah Opialla, Katja Cattapan, Thomas C. Wetter, Lutz Jäncke, and Annette B. Brühl
• A Defense of Introspection from Within — Michel Bitbol and Claire Petitmengin
• The Cognitive Neuroscience of Self-Awareness: Current Framework, Clinical Implications, and Future Research Directions — Daniel C. Mograbi, Simon Hall, Beatriz Arantes, and Jonathan Huntley
• Brain Networks, Neurotransmitters and Psychedelics: Towards a Neurochemistry of Self-Awareness — Daniel C. Mograbi, Rafael Rodrigues, Bheatrix Bienemann, and Jonathan Huntley
• Thinking About Thinking: A Coordinate-Based Meta-Analysis of Neuroimaging Studies of Metacognitive Judgements — Anthony G. Vaccaro and Stephen M. Fleming
• The Brain in (Willed) Action: A Meta-Analytical Comparison of Imaging Studies on Motor Intentionality and Sense of Agency — Seghezzi, Zirone, Paulesu, and Zapparoli
• The Insular Cortex: An Interface Between Sensation, Emotion and Cognition — Zhang, Deng, and Xiao
• Understanding Emotions: Origins and Roles of the Amygdala — Goran Šimić, Mladenka Tkalčić, Vana Vukić, Damir Mulc, Ena Španić, Marina Šagud, Francisco Olucha-Bordonau, Vuksic, and Hof
• Neural Correlates of Autobiographical Memory Retrieval: An SDM Neuroimaging Meta-Analysis — Susie Shepardson, Kristina Dahlgren, and Stephan Hamann