Brief article Recognizing one's own face Tilo T.J. Kircher a,b, * , Carl Senior b , Mary L. Phillips b , Sophia Rabe-Hesketh b , Philip J. Benson c , Edward T. Bullmore d , Mick Brammer b , Andrew Simmons b , Mathias Bartels a , Anthony S. David b a Department of Psychiatry, University of Tuebingen, Osianderstrasse 24, D-72076 Tu Èbingen, Germany b Institute of Psychiatry and GKT School of Medicine, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK c University Laboratory of Physiology, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PT, UK d Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge CB2 2QQ, UK Received 28 September 1998; received in revised form 24 June 2000; accepted 7 July 2000 Abstract We report two studies of facial self-perception using individually tailored, standardized facial photographs of a group of volunteers and their partners. A computerized morphing procedure was used to merge each target face with an unknown control face. In the ®rst set of experiments, a discrimination task revealed a delayed response time for the more extensively morphed self-face stimuli. In a second set of experiments, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to measure brain activation while subjects viewed morphed versions of either their own or their partner's face, alternating in blocks with presentation of an unknown face. When subjects viewed themselves (minus activation for viewing an unknown face), increased blood oxygenation was detected in right limbic (hippocampal formation, insula, anterior cingulate), left prefrontal cortex and superior temporal cortex. In the partner (versus unknown) experiment, only the right insula was activated. We suggest that a neural network involving the right hemisphere in conjunction with left-sided associative and executive regions underlies the process of visual self-recognition. Together, this combination produces the unique experience of self-awareness. q 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Face recognition; Self-concept; Self-perception; Reaction time; Functional imaging 1. Introduction The face is our most characteristic external feature. Mirror recognition does not T.T.J. Kircher et al. / Cognition 78 (2001) B1±B15 B1 Cognition 78 (2001) B1±B15 www.elsevier.com/locate/cognit 0010-0277/01/$ - see front matter q 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII: S0010-0277(00)00104-9 COGNITION * Corresponding author. Department of Psychiatry, University of Tuebingen, Osianderstrasse 24, D- 72076 Tu Èbingen, Germany. Tel.: 149-7071-2982311; fax: 149-7071-294141. E-mail address: tilo.kircher@uni-tuebingen.de (T.T.J. Kircher).