Causal evidence for the processing of bodily self in the anterior precuneus

Dian Lyu; James Robert Stieger; Cindy Xin; Eileen Ma; Zoe Lusk; Mariel Kalkach Aparicio; Katherine Werbaneth; Claire Megan Perry; Karl Deisseroth; Vivek Buch; Josef Parvizi

doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2023.05.013

Causal evidence for the processing of bodily self in the anterior precuneus

Neuron. 2023 Aug 16;111(16):2502-2512.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.05.013. Epub 2023 Jun 8.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Human Intracranial Cognitive Electrophysiology Program, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Departments of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA. Electronic address: dl577@stanford.edu.
² Laboratory of Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Human Intracranial Cognitive Electrophysiology Program, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Departments of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
³ Laboratory of Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
⁴ Departments of Psychiatry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
⁵ Human Intracranial Cognitive Electrophysiology Program, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Departments of Neurosurgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
⁶ Laboratory of Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Human Intracranial Cognitive Electrophysiology Program, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Departments of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Departments of Neurosurgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA. Electronic address: jparvizi@stanford.edu.

PMID: 37295420
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.05.013

Abstract

To probe the causal importance of the human posteromedial cortex (PMC) in processing the sense of self, we studied a rare cohort of nine patients with electrodes implanted bilaterally in the precuneus, posterior cingulate, and retrosplenial regions with a combination of neuroimaging, intracranial recordings, and direct cortical stimulations. In all participants, the stimulation of specific sites within the anterior precuneus (aPCu) caused dissociative changes in physical and spatial domains. Using single-pulse electrical stimulations and neuroimaging, we present effective and resting-state connectivity of aPCu hot zone with the rest of the brain and show that they are located outside the boundaries of the default mode network (DMN) but connected reciprocally with it. We propose that the function of this subregion of the PMC is integral to a range of cognitive processes that require the self's physical point of reference, given its location within a spatial environment.

Keywords: body schema; brain network; connectivity; consciousness; corticocortical evoked potential; derealization; dissociation; fall; float.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Brain Mapping / methods
Brain*
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods
Neural Pathways
Parietal Lobe* / diagnostic imaging