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What distinguishes human beings from other living organisms is that a human perceives himself as a "self". The self is developed hierarchially in a multi-layered process, which is based on the evolutionary maturation of the nervous system and patterns according to the rules and demands of the external world. Many researchers have attempted to explain the different aspects of the self, as well as the related neural substrates. In this paper, we first review the previously proposed ideas regarding the neurobiology of the self. We then suggest a new hypothesis regarding the hierarchial self, which proposes that the self is developed at three stages: subjective, objective, and reflective selves. In the second part, we attempt to answer the question "Why do we need a self?" We therefore explain that different parts of the self developed in an effort to identify stability in space, stability against constantly changing objects, and stability against changing cognitions. Finally, we discuss the role of the cerebellum as the neural substrate for the self.

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In this review, we aim to present our hypothesis about the neural development of affect. According to this view, affect develops at a multi-layered process, and as a mediator between drives, emotion and cognition. This development is parallel to the evolution of the brain from reptiles to mammals. There are five steps in this process: (1) Because of the various environmental challenges, changes in the autonomic nervous system occur and homeostasis becomes destabilized; (2) Drives arise from the destabilized homeostasis; (3) Drives trigger the neural basis of the basic emotional systems; (4) These basic emotions evolve into affect to find the particular object to invest the emotional energy; and (5) In the final stage, cognition is added to increase the possibility of identifying a particular object. In this paper, we will summarize the rationale behind this view, which is based on neuroscientific proofs, such as evolution of autonomic nervous system, neural basis the raw affective states, the interaction between affect and cognition, related brain areas, related neurotransmitters, as well as some clinical examples.