The Self as a Pattern: Integrating Neural and Phenomenological Perspectives

The present thesis investigates the neural, phenomenological, and comparative dimensions of self identitythrough the integrative framework of the Pattern Theory of Self (PTS), which conceptualizes the self as adynamic, multidimensional pattern of interrelated processes rather than a singular or localized entity. Acrossfour interrelated studies, the thesis operationalizes and empirically tests this framework, drawing onmethods from cognitive neuroscience, phenomenology, mental imagery, and comparative psychology.The second chapter presents a systematic review of empirical research on bodily self-consciousness, focusingon the minimal self, which represents the immediate, pre-reflective sense of body ownership and agency.Evidence from illusion paradigms (e.g., rubber hand and full-body illusions), clinical populations, andcontemplative practices highlights the centrality of multisensory integration networks (involving premotorcortex, insula, posterior parietal cortex, and somatosensory areas) and the critical role of emotional anchoring,particularly through the amygdala, in maintaining a coherent sense of embodied self. The review supports aview of the minimal self as fragile, malleable, and shaped by both internal regulation and intersubjectiveinteraction. The third chapter extends the Pattern Theory to the domain of animal consciousness, addressinga long-standing gap in the literature by proposing a non-hierarchical, graded model of self identity acrossspecies. By rejecting binary distinctions between bodily and cognitive self-capacities, and integrating insightsfrom ethology, neuroscience, and comparative psychology, this theoretical contribution demonstrates that thePTS framework can accommodate species-specific patterns of self-organization shaped by ecological andneural constraints, offering a novel lens through which to investigate non-human forms of identity.The fourth chapter introduces a novel neurophenomenological paradigm combining mental imagery taskswith first-person self-report to investigate the eight core PTS-derived dimensions of self identity: embodied,minimal, affective, cognitive, intersubjective, extended, situated, and narrative aspects. Participants engagedin "feel" (experiential) or "think" (reflective) imagery conditions, rating each scenario along emotional,temporal, and perspectival axes. Results revealed systematic differences in emotional valence (lower forembodied experience, higher for narrative and intersubjective conditions), distinct temporal orientations(with minimal self anchored to the present, and narrative self extending into autobiographical past), andperspectival shifts (a dominant first-person perspective across most dimensions, except for narrative self,which showed a balanced distribution). Network analysis showed that situated and narrative selves functionas central hubs, supporting the interconnectivity of self-dimensions and the patterned structure proposed byPTS. In the final chapter, we implemented EEG techniques with imaginary coherence (iCOH/iCOH-Area). Wemapped large-scale communication while participants engaged the different aspects of the pattern theory ofself model. Self-related processing was frequency- and network-selective, with alpha rhythms dominating:midline fronto-parietal coupling supported Embodied/Situated/Narrative focus, Minimal self recruited aright-lateral fronto-parietal route in Alpha-2, and pooled analyses identified Alpha-2 as a marker of globalintegration that peaked for Affective (and, to a lesser extent, Situated) relative to Narrative self; frontooccipital links and gamma effects were minimal. These patterns suggest a layered architecture in which alpha“gating by inhibition” re-routes long-range communication along task-relevant axes, and in which3affective/embodied anchoring provides propaedeutic scaffolding for more conceptual, temporally extendedself-representations. Together, these studies offer the first comprehensive neuroscientific operationalizationof the Pattern Theory of Self. By integrating experimental, theoretical, and comparative approaches, thisthesis articulates a framework in which self identity is not reducible to isolated neural events or staticconstructs but is emergent, flexible, and distributed across multiple functional and phenomenologicaldomains. The overall contribute of the present work aim to improve the empirical mapping of self-identity,highlight the viability of combining first-person and third-person methodologies, and open new directionsfor the study of consciousness, psychopathology, and animal cognition.