Representation of the self-consciousness in the primate parietal operculum and posterior insula

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17H03549
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Neurophysiology / General neuroscience
• Research Institution: Institute of Physical and Chemical Research
• Principal Investigator: Iriki Atsushi 国立研究開発法人理化学研究所, 生命機能科学研究センター, チームリーダー (70184843)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 自己意識 / 第二体性感覚野 / 頭頂弁蓋部 / 自己鏡映像 / bimodal ニューロン

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Training of Japanese macaques using mirrors and virtual reality devices was able to induce behaviors that show self-mirror image recognition, which has been considered not to occur in the natural state. In such monkeys, neuronal activities were recorded from the secondary somatosensory area of the cerebral cortex and its surrounding parietal operculum and posterior insular cortex, which process and integrate, in addition to the somatosensory information, other information of visual and auditory modalities related the whole body regardless of the body parts. By analyzing activity patterns of those neurons, the self as the subject of consciousness was represented as not just a physical aggregate of body parts, but is structured to comprise a part of the whole in relation to others and the surrounding living environments, which further advanced considerations to establish the concept of the core-self, by philosophical and psychological speculations.

Free Research Field

霊長類およびヒトの知性進化の認知神経生物学的メカニズムの解明

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

これまで明確に理解されていなかった、大脳皮質第二体性感覚野の特徴的な新たな機能的意義を明らかにすることによって、感覚情報処理の理解に新機軸を打ち出すことが出来た。ことに、人間知性の特徴であるとされる意識の基盤として、霊長類脳を対象とした反証可能な実証的実験研究によって、この領域が自己意識の座として、自己と環境世界を構造化して橋渡しする場であることが提唱され、意識研究の発展に大きく資することにより、豊かな人間社会を設計するための科学的基盤となることが期待される。