Some interesting perturbations of the self in neurology

In this review I discuss four neurological disorders that involve alterations of the self or self-awareness. These include the allen hand syndrome, asomatognosia, misidentification of the self in the mirror, and personal confabulation. In one way or another all of these inform us about the neurobiological basis of the self. It is suggested that mirror self-misidentification, asomatognosia, and personal confabulation are related syndromes. They are interpreted as examples of a perturbation in relatedness between the self and the environment related to delusional misidentification syndromes. The particular role of bilateral frontolimbic damage in producing disturbances of the self is discussed.