Introspective awareness and modulation of both ancient and more recently evolved aspects of our cognition:
Brain Hack #1
-The reptilian brain (whose modern descendant is found in the mammalian hypothalamus) generates affective states along axes of arousal and valence, whose states in higher primates can be assessed by introspective awareness.
Brain Hack #2
-The early mammalian emotional brain, whose ability to model a self (correlating with the appearance of the agranular prefrontal cortex), develops the ability to distinguish the difference between being (immersed in) an affective state and seeing (observing) it.
Brain Hack #3
-The ...
