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The Social Brain: Evolution and Pathology

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The human brain is thought to be the most complex organ that has evolved. According to some estimates as much as ninety percent of our higher cortical functions are dedicated to social functions: they evolved to help us cope with an increasingly complex social environment.

It is also true that humans lie at an important intersection: on the one hand trying to emphasize our individuality and on the other being pulled toward something greater than ourselves. Despite the pull of the individuality, most of us seem to derive satisfaction from, and to discover who we are, when we are engaged in service to or with others. Underlying this need and desire is our "social brain."

The social brain is involved in social cognition and social intelligence: it enables us to "read" the facial expressions, gestures and vocalizations of others, allowing us to anticipate or foresee how others might respond or act. Apes and humans have also evolved the ability to make deductions about how others are thinking, which is commonly referred to as having a "theory of mind". We also have skills such as empathy and the ability to learn form experience, so that our own behavior is socially appropriate. It takes the "average" human almost two decades to develop the full suite of social abilities, and their development is the product of genes and the environment. The "social brain" happens to be one of the most plastic regions of the entire brain.

It is easy to see that many psychological and psychiatric problems might be rooted in disturbances of these systems of the brain. For example, antisocial personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, psychosis and dementia are all associated with different forms of disturbance in social functioning.

This book is an excellent multi-authored overview of the development of social cognition in humans and examines some of the cognitive, psychological and psychiatric problems that can follow from maldevelopment or damage to these systems of the brain.

The book is divided into four parts and nineteen chapters contributed by some of the world's foremost authorities on the brain and social functions:

Introduction by Leslie Brothers.

Part I: Evolutionary Aspects Of The 'Social Brain'
1. Stereotypy vs. Plasticity In Vertebrate Cognition by Carmen Strungaru
2. Is The Human Brain Unique? by Gerhard Roth
3. Tracing The Evolutionary Path Of Cognition by Richard Byrne
4. Protocadherinxy: A Candidate Gene For Cerebral Asymmetry And Language by Tim Crow

Part II: Culture And The 'Social Brain'.
5. Evolution Of The Cultured Mind: Lessons From Wild Chimpanzees by William McGrew
6. Ninye Kanye: The Human Mind. Traditional Papuan Societies As Models To Understand Evolution Towards The Social Brain by Wulf Schiefenhövel

Part III: Developmental Aspects Of The 'Social Brain'
7. Big Brains, Slow Development, And Social Complexity: The Developmental And Evolutionary Origins Of Social Cognition by David Bjorklund & Jesse Bering
8. Where Is 'The Other' In The Self? Multiplicity, Unity, And Transformation Of The Self From A Developmental Standpoint by Ingrid Josephs & Hedda Ribbert

Part IV: Pathologies Of The 'Social Brain'
9. The Social Brain In Autism by Fred Volkmar, Ami Klin ,Robert Schultz, Katarzyna Chawarska and Warren Jones
10. Do Children With ADHD Not Need Their Frontal Lobes For Theory Of Mind? A Review Of Brain Imaging And Neuropsychological Studies by Winifred Kain & Josef Perner
11. Social Cognition Following Prefrontal Cortical Lesions by Robin Morris, Jessica Bramham and Andrea Rowe
12. Social Cognition At The Neural Level: Investigations In Autism, Psychopathy and Schizophrenia by Tamara Russell & Tonmoy Sharma
13. Social Cognition And Behaviour In Schizophrenia by Martin Brüne
14. Theory Of Mind Delusions And Bizarre Delusions In An Evolutionary Perspective: Psychiatry And The Social Brain by Bruce Charlton
15. Social Cognition In Paranoia And Bipolar Affective Disorder by Peter Kinderman
16. Psychopathy, Machiavellianism, And Theory Of Mind by Linda Mealey & Stuart Kinner
17. Borderline Personality Disorder Theory Of Mind: An Evolutionary Perspective by Gerhard Dammann
18. Awareness And Theory Of Mind In Dementia by Sergio Starkstein & Maria Garau
19. Postscript by Martin Brüne, Hedda Roberts and Wulf Schiefenhovel

Each chapter is well referenced and there is a good index.

This is an excellent book that re-frames many human problems in a new and very hopeful light. It is a shame that it is so expensive.

I strongly recommend it to anyone working in neurology, psychology or psychiatry, as well as anyone interested in the growing evidence that many of the psychological, social and cognitive problems of today have their origins back in the mists of time.