The Neurobiological Basis of the Conundrum of Self-continuity: A Hypothesis

Abstract

Life, whatsoever it is, is a temporal flux. Everything is doomed to change often apparently beyond our awareness. My body appears totally different now, so does my mind. I have gained new attitudes and new ambitions, and a substantial number of old ones have been discarded. But, I am still the same person in an ongoing manner. Besides, recent neuroscientific and psychological evidence has shown that our conscious perception happens as a series of discrete or bounded instants—it emerges in temporally scattered, gappy, and discrete forms. But, if it is so, how does the brain persevere our self-continuity (or continuity of identity) in this gappy setting? How is it possible that despite moment-to-moment changes in my appearance and mind, I am still feeling that I am that person? How can we tackle with this second by second gap and resurrection in our existence which leads to a foundation of wholeness and continuity of our self? How is continuity of self (collective set of our connected experiences in the vessel of time) that results in a feeling that one’s life has purpose and meaning preserved? To answer these questions, the problem has been comprehended from a philosophical, psychological, and neuroscientific perspective. I realize that first and foremost fact lies in the temporal nature of identity. Having equipped with these thoughts, in this article, it is hypothesized that according to two principles (the principle of reafference or corollary discharge and the principle of a time theory) self-continuity is maintained. It is supposed that there should be a precise temporal integration mechanism in the CNS with the outside world that provides us this smooth, ungappy flow of the Self. However, we are often taken for granted the importance of self-continuity, but it can be challenged by life transitions such as entering adulthood, retirement, senility, emigration, and societal changes such as immigration, globalization, and in much unfortunate and extreme cases of mental illnesses such as schizophrenia.

Complementarity of mental content and logistic algorithms in a taxonomy of cognitive functions

“…On the basis of the connection of different temporal islands, we obtain the impression of a flowing and continuous time. The sense of continuity that characterizes conscious experience requires another integrative mechanism provided by a longer temporal constant than that involved in temporal binding (Izadifar, 2022). It has been proposed that emotional states (lasting from minutes to hours) could play a role in the implementation of semantic integration (Pöppel et al, 1991) by providing temporal constants that subserve "semantic binding."…”

“…On the basis of the connection of different temporal islands, we obtain the impression of a flowing and continuous time. The sense of continuity that characterizes conscious experience requires another integrative mechanism provided by a longer temporal constant than that involved in temporal binding (Izadifar, 2022). It has been proposed that emotional states (lasting from minutes to hours) could play a role in the implementation of semantic integration (Pöppel et al, 1991) by providing temporal constants that subserve “semantic binding.” Early emotional processing (elicited by either external or internal stimuli) induce immediate automatic responses at the subcortical level (i.e., brain stem and diencephalic structures), which through the liberation of neuromodulators as dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine directly affect the whole inner state of neural systems.…”