Healthy subjects reflected either on themselves, a personally known or an unknown person during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
We here investigated brain activity associated with a short, exclusively mental process of self-reflection in the absence of external stimuli or behavioural requirements. Previous studies have addressed the neural correlates of self-referential processes in response to or related to external stimuli. Self-referential cognitions are important for self-monitoring and self-regulation.
