EEG correlates of self-recognition in morphed faces: association with social anxiety

Abstract

Recognizing one’s own face is important for self-identification and is considered an indicator of self-consciousness. Social anxiety is related to special attention to self. The aim was to investigate the oscillatory dynamics associated with self-recognition/non-self-recognition in morphed faces and the correlation with social anxiety in these processes. During EEG recordings with 128 electrodes, 48 volunteers (31 females) recognized themselves in morphed faces. During self-recognition, a greater increase in theta rhythm was revealed in the time interval from 800 to 1500 ms than in the non-self-recognition condition. Based on the data on the relationship of the theta rhythm with attention and memory, it could be assumed that the increase in theta rhythm may be related to memory and attention processes when perceiving details, mismatches, and misrepresentation of one’s own face. Social anxiety was positively related to the magnitude of theta rhythm during self-recognition, it could be related to the increased attention that socially anxious people focus on themselves and distortions of their own face.