The following research suggests that there are relationships between different parts of the brain involved in our perception of what is 'us' or 'other'. There are many conditions that can permanently or temporarily alter our perceptual selves. Schizophrenia is fuzzy term on a large spectrum of related 'pathologies'.
These results link the cerebellum to the mechanism distinguishing self and other for tactile stimulation. They are fascinating in their own right but become even more interesting with the finding that these same approaches reveal that some human psychotic states fail to adequately distinguish ‘self’ from ‘other’. Blakemore et al. (2000) go on to describe experiments to determine whether patients with auditory hallucinations and/or passivity experiences were abnormally responsive to the sensory consequences of their own movements. Patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder, or depression can suffer from auditory hallucinations such as the sound of voices in their head. They may also suffer from passivity experiences in which they experience their mind or body being under the influence or control of some kind of external force or agency.
These results support the proposal that auditory hallucinations and passivity experiences are associated with an abnormality in the forward model mechanism that normally allows us to distinguish self-produced from externally produced sensations. The conclusion is that the neural system associated with this mechanism, or part of it, operates abnormally in people with such symptoms.
Cerebellar Sense of Self (p. 17). OUP Oxford. Kindle Edition.
"Religious or cultural aspects can also be associated with or "induce" AVH and not be associated with mental health concerns."
Language and culture can literally shape our brain and with it the nature of our perceptual experience.
Culture also appears to influence the way the self is represented in our brains. In one experiment, Western and Chinese participants were asked to think about themselves, their mothers, or a public person. The fMRI data showed that the same parts of the brain (Medial Prefrontal Cortex) were activated when both groups thought about themselves. However, unlike with the Western participants, the MPFC was also activated among Chinese participants when they thought of their mothers. These results were interpreted as suggesting that the Chinese participants use the same brain area to represent both the self and their mothers, while the Western participants use the MPFC exclusively for self-representation. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/between-cultures/201701/how-culture-wires-our-brains
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But the predominant reason that culture becomes embodied, even though many anthropologists overlook it, is that neuroanatomy inherently makes experience material. Without material change in the brain, learning, memory, maturation, and even trauma could not happen. Neural systems adapt through long-term refinement and remodeling, which leads to deep enculturation. Through systematic change in the nervous system, the human body learns to orchestrate itself as well as it eventually does. Cultural concepts and meanings become anatomy. https://neuroanthropology.net/2009/10/08/the-encultured-brain-why-neuroanthropology-why-now/#:~:text=Why%20Now%3F,-By%20Greg%20Downey&text=Neuroanthropology%20places%20the%20brain%20and,of%20the%20human%20nervous%20system.