Self-Awareness, the "me" Feeling, and Mental Disorders
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12970/2310-8231.2021.09.05Keywords:
Self awareness-mental disorder-insular cortex-vestibular system-behavior.Abstract
Self-awareness capacity allows us to know that we exist in a particular form and a specific place. It guides our attentional, emotional, cognitive, decision making, executive functions, and body physiology to get the best advantages and survival. Current definitions of mental disorders describe dysfunctions of the said processes. This article stands out the relevance of self-awareness dysfunctions in mental disorders and draughts the importance of considering its activity as the main parameter that should be carefully regulated to maintain mental health. It also highlights the role of the inner ear's vestibular/balance system as a regulatory factor of self-awareness function that allows the integration of sensorial inputs with the perception of the own body movements giving birth to the feeling of unity and ownership, the "me" feeling.
References
American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental Disorders. 5th ed. Washington DC: American Psychiatric Association 2013. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
Lopez C, Halje P, Blanke O. Body ownership and embodiment: Vestibular and multisensory mechanisms. Neurophysiol Clin 2008; 38(3): 149-61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neucli.2007.12.006
Lopez C. A neuroscientific account of how vestibular disorders impair bodily self-consciousness. Front Integr Neurosci 2013. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnint.2013.00091
Pfeiffer C, Serino A, Blanke O. The vestibular system: a spatial reference for bodily self-consciousness. Front Integr Neurosci 2014; 8: 31. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnint.2014.00031
Smith PF, Geddes LH, Baek J-H, Darlington CL, Zheng Y, Halmagyi GM, et al. Modulation of memory by vestibular lesions and galvanic vestibular stimulation. Front. Neurol 2010; (1): 141. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2010.00141
Rogge A-K, Röder B, Zech A, Nagel V, Hollander K, Braumann K-M, et al. Balance training improves memory and spatial cognition in healthy adults. Scientific Reports 2017; 7(1): 5661. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-06071-9
Zheng Y, Horii A, Appleton I, Darlington CL, Smith PF. Damage to the vestibular inner ear causes long-term changes in neuronal nitric oxide synthase expression in the rat hippocampus. Neuroscience 2001; 105(1): 1-5. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0306-4522(01)00217-2
Hong SK, Kim HJ, Lee HJ. Changes in the gray matter volume during compensation after vestibular neuritis: A longitudinal VBM study. Restor Neurol Neurosci 2014; 32(5). https://doi.org/10.3233/RNN-140405
Mast FW, Preuss N, Hartmann M, Grabherr L. Spatial cognition, body representation and affective processes: the role of vestibular information beyond ocular reflexes and control of posture. Front Integr Neurosci 2014; 8: 44. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnint.2014.00044
Stackman RW, Clark AS, Taube JS. Hippocampal spatial representations require vestibular input. Hippocampus 2002; 12(3): 291-303. https://doi.org/10.1002/hipo.1112