Matthew Banks, Ph.D.
Department of Neuroscience
Neural correlates of a changing sense of self
The sense of self is a multiplicity of interacting processes that is dynamic and flexible, for example including core self (“I am”), embodied self (“I am an agent with a body that feels and senses”), and narrative self (“I have traits and identity that persist through time”). How these processes are integrated during typical waking consciousness, and how this integration is disrupted during sleep, anesthesia, and in psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders is unclear. We are investigating the neural correlates of the self in neurosurgical patients using electrophysiological recordings combined with behavioral tasks. We will use these data to test models of the integration of the self during loss and recovery of consciousness during sleep and anesthesia.