What is the significance of private methods in PHP classes and how are they accessed within the same class?

Private methods in PHP classes are significant because they can only be accessed within the same class, making them inaccessible from outside the class. This helps to encapsulate functionality and hide implementation details, improving the overall organization and security of the code. To access private methods within the same class, you can simply call the method using the $this keyword followed by the method name.

class MyClass {
    private function myPrivateMethod() {
        // do something
    }

    public function myPublicMethod() {
        // accessing private method within the same class
        $this->myPrivateMethod();
    }
}