Meditation and interoception: a conceptual framework for the narrative and experiential self.

Two distinct selves are described in the literature: the narrative self, which involves conceptual self-knowledge and reflection, and the experiential self, which involves moment-to-moment awareness and embodiment. These selves are linked to separate neural circuits—the default mode network and the insula/salience network. Meditation alters these circuits, offering a plausible mechanism for changes in the sense of self. A rudimentary conceptual framework is proposed to help explain mixed results in meditation research.

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Abstract

The concept of the self is complex and there is no consensus on what the self is. However, there are emerging patterns in the literature that point to two different selves, the narrative and experiential self. The narrative self refers to a conceptual or representational knowledge of the self that extends across time and manifests in self-reflection and personality assessments. The experiential self refers to first-person perception, moment-to-moment awareness, embodiment, and a sense of agency. These two selves are reliably linked to two distinct neural circuits, the default mode network (DMN) and the insula and salience network (SN). One of the consistent themes in the meditative and mindfulness literature is a change in the perspective of the self. In this paper, I will review how meditation alters those neural circuits providing a plausible mechanism that can explain the changes in the self. I also propose a rudimentary conceptual framework to account for some of the mixed results found throughout meditation literature.