Causal evidence for the processing of bodily self in the anterior precuneus.

To probe the causal importance of the human posteromedial cortex (PMC) in processing the sense of self, we studied a rare cohort of nine patients with electrodes implanted bilaterally in the precuneus, posterior cingulate, and retrosplenial regions with a combination of neuroimaging, intracranial recordings, and direct cortical stimulations. In all participants, the stimulation of specific sites within the anterior precuneus (aPCu) caused dissociative changes in physical and spatial domains. Using single-pulse electrical stimulations and neuroimaging, we present effective and resting-state connectivity of aPCu hot zone with the rest of the brain and show that they are located outside the boundaries of the default mode network (DMN) but connected reciprocally with it. We propose that the function of this subregion of the PMC is integral to a range of cognitive processes that require the self's physical point of reference, given its location within a spatial environment. [Display omitted] • We studied anterior precuneus (aPCu) with fMRI, intracranial EEG, and electrical stimulations • Stimulation of aPCu caused distortions in core body schema and self-dissociation • Responsive aPCu sites were not part of, but were connected with, a default mode network • We present a brain-wide map of structures that are causally connected with the aPCu Lyu et al. studied the human posteromedial cortex using a combination of fMRI, intracranial EEG, and direct cortical stimulations. They argue that the anterior PMC is important for the sense of physical self, the distortion of which causes self-dissociation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]