Present and past selves: a steady-state visual evoked potentials approach to self-face processing

The self-face has a prioritized status in the processing of incoming visual inputs. As the self-face changes over the lifespan, this stimulus seems to be well-suited for investigation of the self across time. Here, steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEP, oscillatory responses to periodic stimulation with a frequency that mirrors the frequency of stimulation) were used to investigate this topic. Different types of faces (present self, past self, close-other’s, unknown, scrambled) flickered four times per second in two types of stimulation (‘identical’, with the same image of a given type of face; ‘different’, with different images of the same type of face). Each of the 10 stimulation sessions lasted 90 seconds and was repeated three times. EEG data were recorded and analyzed in 20 participants. In general, faces evoked higher SSVEP than scrambled faces. The impact of identical and different stimulation was similar for faces and scrambled faces: SSVEP to different stimuli (faces, scrambled faces) was enhanced in comparison to identical ones. Present self-faces evoked higher SSVEP responses than past self-faces in the different stimulation condition only. Thus, our results showed that the physical aspects of the present and past selves are differentiated on the neural level in the absence of an overt behavior.