Thesis title: The Self as a Pattern: Integrating Neural and Phenomenological Perspectives
The present thesis investigates the neural, phenomenological, and comparative dimensions of self identity through the integrative framework of the Pattern Theory of Self (PTS), which conceptualizes the self as a dynamic, multidimensional pattern of interrelated processes rather than a singular or localized entity. Across four interrelated studies, the thesis operationalizes and empirically tests this framework, drawing on methods from cognitive neuroscience, phenomenology, mental imagery, and comparative psychology.
The second chapter presents a systematic review of empirical research on bodily self-consciousness, focusing on the minimal self, which represents the immediate, pre-reflective sense of body ownership and agency. Evidence from illusion paradigms (e.g., rubber hand and full-body illusions), clinical populations, and contemplative practices highlights the centrality of multisensory integration networks (involving premotor cortex, insula, posterior parietal cortex, and somatosensory areas) and the critical role of emotional anchoring, particularly through the amygdala, in maintaining a coherent sense of embodied self. The review supports a view of the minimal self as fragile, malleable, and shaped by both internal regulation and intersubjective interaction.
The third chapter extends the Pattern Theory to the domain of animal consciousness, addressing a long-standing gap in the literature by proposing a non-hierarchical, graded model of self identity across species. By rejecting binary distinctions between bodily and cognitive self-capacities, and integrating insights from ethology, neuroscience, and comparative psychology, this theoretical contribution demonstrates that the PTS framework can accommodate species-specific patterns of self-organization shaped by ecological and neural constraints, offering a novel lens through which to investigate non-human forms of identity.
The fourth chapter introduces a novel neurophenomenological paradigm combining mental imagery tasks with first-person self-report to investigate the eight core PTS-derived dimensions of self identity: embodied, minimal, affective, cognitive, intersubjective, extended, situated, and narrative aspects. Participants engaged in "feel" (experiential) or "think" (reflective) imagery conditions, rating each scenario along emotional, temporal, and perspectival axes. Results revealed systematic differences in emotional valence (lower for embodied experience, higher for narrative and intersubjective conditions), distinct temporal orientations (with minimal self anchored to the present, and narrative self extending into autobiographical past), and perspectival shifts (a dominant first-person perspective across most dimensions, except for narrative self, which showed a balanced distribution). Network analysis showed that situated and narrative selves function as central hubs, supporting the interconnectivity of self-dimensions and the patterned structure proposed by PTS.
The final chapter uses electroencephalographical techniques to examine frequency-specific neural signatures across self dimensions, revealing that alpha 2 band connectivity differentiates between self-modes. Affective and situated self conditions elicited significantly stronger global connectivity compared to narrative and intersubjective conditions. Alpha 2 activity, associated with emotion regulation and internally directed attention, emerged as a potential neural marker of emotionally anchored self-awareness. These findings suggest a functional hierarchy in self-referential processing, with embodied and affective dimensions driving higher neural integration, while conceptually mediated aspects remain more context-dependent. Together, these studies offer the first comprehensive neuroscientific operationalization of the Pattern Theory of Self. By integrating experimental, theoretical, and comparative approaches, this thesis articulates a framework in which self identity is not reducible to isolated neural events or static constructs but is emergent, flexible, and distributed across multiple functional and phenomenological domains. The results contribute to the empirical mapping of self-identity, highlight the viability of combining first-person and third-person methodologies, and open new directions for the study of consciousness, psychopathology, and animal cognition. This work advances the scientific understanding of self identity as a patterned, embodied phenomenon embedded in biological, social, and experiential contexts.