What is the self? I am interested in gaining insight into the self by examining processes of buildup, contrasts, and breakdown. First, can developmental mechanisms underlying a neuron's ability to recognize itself and avoid itself in order to form synaptic connections with other neurons provide a framework for how a psychological concept of self may develop? Second, how do coming-of-age narratives differ in cultures of self versus non-self, the latter being inspired by Buddhist philosophy? Third, how does the self change following drug-induced phenomena of ego dissolution and in end-of-life transitions? The goal of my project would be to establish a simplified concept of the self, with factors that capture the dimensions between self and nonself. This goal is explored in the ambiguous environment on the existence of the self itself.