Medial prefrontal evidence weighting in self-belief revision and self-continuity

Self-continuity requires the brain to preserve relatively stable beliefs about the self while remaining responsive to evidence that warrants revision. We propose that medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)-centered processes contribute to this balance by weighting self-relevant information according to personal value, autobiographical relevance, social perspective, source credibility, and existing belief structure. Within this account, evidence can be assimilated without durable change, produce local revision, or alter more persistent self-beliefs. Ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) is positioned primarily within valuation and personal-significance processing, whereas dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) becomes increasingly relevant when evaluation depends on social perspective, self-other appraisal, source evaluation, or uncertainty. A recursive self-model provides the temporal architecture linking these weighting operations to self-continuity: revisions become consequential when they alter subsequent evidence weighting, autobiographical retrieval, or propagation across related beliefs. We predict that source credibility and self-relevance measured before feedback will influence belief revision even when discrepancy is held constant. The breadth and semantic connectivity of existing self-representations should shape how far these revisions spread, while medial prefrontal responses may help predict both immediate change and its persistence over time. These predictions offer a basis for examining how evidence weighting allows self-beliefs to remain stable while accommodating new experience.