Self-processing brain systems conserved and reorganized across primates

A new article in the *Journal of Neuroscience* reports on research by Ning Liu of the Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, who examined whether the neural substrates that support self‑processing are shared across primate species. Liu’s study focuses on humans, chimpanzees and macaques, three taxa that span a broad range of primate evolution.

Using comparative neuroanatomical methods, Liu investigated the structural organization of brain regions implicated in self‑referential cognition. The research aimed to determine whether the same neural circuits that enable self‑awareness in humans are also present in our closest living relatives and in more distantly related primates, thereby shedding light on the evolutionary origins of this complex cognitive function.

The findings, which will be available in the journal’s online issue, could help clarify how self‑processing abilities emerged and diversified among primates. By establishing whether these brain structures are conserved, the study provides a foundation for future work on the neural basis of self‑awareness and its evolutionary trajectory.