ID-SCAN: a functional MRI protocol for neurophenomenological phenotyping of dissociative identity disorder without trauma provocation.
Shogo Kajimura, Kenichiro Okano, Senkei Ueno et al.
✦ AI-curated · Sources linked
Case in brief
A woman with dissociative identity disorder and persistent co-consciousness between two identity-agents completed ID-SCAN, a functional MRI protocol that did not use trauma provocation. In an identity-cued task, the agents interpreted identical insect photographs in opposite ways; they also made trait judgments about themselves, each other, and a shared intimate other. The agents showed differing activation and task-evoked connectivity, and occupied separable positions in self-referential regions. Cue-locked activity varied with switching direction, with greater reconfiguration when switching to the less-foregrounded agent. Cross-task overlap involved posterior visual and dorsal parietal cortex.
What made this case unusual
The protocol characterised identity-agent expression and switching without trauma-related autobiographical recall or symptom provocation, while demonstrating distinct signatures in two co-conscious agents in a single case.
Diagnostic / clinical pearl
Identity-cued tasks using identical stimuli can reveal within-person differences in how co-conscious identity-agents interpret information and represent self, without relying on trauma provocation.
Why it matters
ID-SCAN offers a candidate framework for single-case and groupwise research; its test-retest reliability and clinical sensitivity remain to be established.