Theory of Self‑Anchors: Architecture of a Stable Anchor and Dynamic Reference‑Frame Switching

The self is often described in terms of the narrative self, but the organization of first‑person experience extends beyond autobiographical continuity. The theory of self‑anchors introduces an architecture with three interacting axes: a stable self‑anchor, bodily grounding, and rhythm‑generating dynamics of the retrosplenial cortex. The stable self‑anchor is associated with the precuneus and posterior cingulate cortex; its measurable marker is the balance of glutamate–glutamine complex and gamma‑aminobutyric acid in this region, assessed with proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy and related to functional connectivity between the posterior cingulate cortex and medial prefrontal cortex as well as to self‑referential tasks. Bodily grounding is operationalized through functional coupling between the posterior cingulate cortex and the insula, together with evidence on the temporoparietal junction, self‑location, and body ownership. Rhythm‑generating dynamics describes the flexibility of retrosplenial delta and theta activity during reference‑frame switching; its pathological variant is expressed as low‑frequency locking and abnormal delta–gamma coupling in dissociative states. Depersonalization serves as a clinical test case for the stable self‑anchor, and ketamine‑induced dissociation serves as an experimental test case for pathological rhythm‑generating dynamics. The theory predicts partial dissociation among the marker of anchor stability, the marker of bodily grounding, and retrosplenial delta and theta measures across tasks, symptom profiles, and pharmacological states. Support for the theory requires a distinct measurable profile and a distinct mode of disruption for each axis. If all effects are reducible to the narrative self, global default mode network activity, or arousal level, the theory requires reformulation.