The neural correlates of implicit and explicit self-relevant processing

Neuroimaging investigations of self-processing have generally focused on the neural correlates of explicit self-reflection. However, very little is known about the neural basis of implicit self-related processes. We utilized the concept of self-schemas to construct a two-task fMRI study that elicited both implicit and explicit self-relevant processes. The sample consisted of 18 participants who were schematic for either athletics or science. In the implicit self-relevance task, individuals made non-self-relevant judgments about affectively neutral scientific and athletic images. In the explicit self-reference task, participants judged the self-descriptiveness of adjectives related to athletics or science. Implicit and explicit processing of self-relevant (schematic) material elicited activity in many of the same regions, including medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate/precuneus, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, subgenual anterior cingulate, amygdala, and ventral striatum. We suggest that processing self-related material recruits similar neural networks regardless of whether the self-relevance is made explicit or not.