Exploring the brain basis of self-monitoring

Self-monitoring- the ability to monitor and adapt one's behavior to align with social situations-is a fundamental aspect of human social functioning. Recent research has revealed the involvement of the left post-central gyrus and parietal cortex in social cognitive behavior, highlighting impairments in self-monitoring following traumatic brain injury, along with related executive and cognitive functions. To explore self-monitoring, we analyzed self-reported self-monitoring scores from 99 individuals with penetrating brain injuries and their relatives. We then used a voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping technique to identify brain regions associated with differences between self- and other-evaluations. Our findings revealed that veterans' ability to assess their own self-monitoring-when compared to their caregivers' perspectives-is related to cognitive functions, and dependent on damage to the left postcentral gyrus, the parietal lobe, and associated subcortical pathways that enable the reliable regulation of actions and goal-directed behaviors in response to the external environment. This study provides causal evidence that self-awareness and cognitive functions are both critical skills for monitoring social behavior.