Goldberg Ilan I, Harel Michal, Malach Rafael
Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
Neuron. 2006 Apr 20;50(2):329-39. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2006.03.015.
A common theme in theories of subjective awareness poses a self-related "observer" function, or a homunculus, as a critical element without which awareness can not emerge. Here, we examined this question using fMRI. In our study, we compared brain activity patterns produced by a demanding sensory categorization paradigm to those engaged during self-reflective introspection, using similar sensory stimuli. Our results show a complete segregation between the two patterns of activity. Furthermore, regions that showed enhanced activity during introspection underwent a robust inhibition during the demanding perceptual task. The results support the notion that self-related processes are not necessarily engaged during sensory perception and can be actually suppressed.
主观意识理论中的一个常见主题提出，一种与自我相关的“观察者”功能或小人儿是一个关键要素，没有它意识就无法出现。在此，我们使用功能磁共振成像（fMRI）研究了这个问题。在我们的研究中，我们将一项要求较高的感觉分类范式所产生的大脑活动模式与使用类似感觉刺激进行自我反思内省时所涉及的大脑活动模式进行了比较。我们的结果显示这两种活动模式完全分离。此外，在内省过程中显示活动增强的区域在要求较高的感知任务期间受到了强烈抑制。这些结果支持了这样一种观点，即与自我相关的过程在感觉感知过程中不一定会参与，实际上可能会受到抑制。
