Brain connectivity and the self: The case of cerebral disconnection

Over the past several years, the study of self-related cognition has garnered increasing interest amongst psychologists and cognitive neuroscientists. Concomitantly, lesion and neuroimaging studies have demonstrated the importance of intact cortico-cortical and cortico-subcortical connections for supporting high-level cognitive functions. Commissurotomy or “split-brain” patients provide unique insights into the role of the cerebral commissures in maintaining an individual’s sense of self, as well as into the unique self-representation capabilities of each cerebral hemisphere. Here we review empirical work examining the integrity of self-related processes in patients with various disconnection syndromes, focusing on studies of self-recognition, ownership, and agency. Taken together, this body of work suggests that an intact corpus callosum enabling interhemispheric transfer is necessary for some, but not all types of self-representations.