What is social neuroscience?

Neuroscience has expanded hugely in the last fifteen years or so since researchers have been able to buy time on hospital fMRI scanners during off-peak periods. By attaching ever more sophisticated computer technology, it has become possible to collect data that promises to close a major ‘missing link’ - between how the brain and behaviour of one person, influences that of another - how the physical science of the human body links to the psychological and the sociological. How the verbal and nonverbal communication of one person becomes that of another. Equally the results show a trend towards the brain being much more flexible, adaptive and capable of new learning (in all age groups) than was previously thought. Indeed the key question to ask now may well be; how do people manage to stick to habits and routines which narrow the possibilities of their lives when their brains have the capacity to do otherwise?

(Most neuroscientists proceed on the assumption that Darwinian evolution by natural selection applies to the human species - both biologically and culturally; or to phrase it differently; the rules of evolution apply to the maturation of the physical structure of an individual brain, plus all it’s acquired contents - all the learnt stuff!)

So researchers are now talking tentatively about a social neuroscience; how the daily physical experience of the world of others maps into the creation and growth of new connections in the brain leading to the strengthening or weakening of neural pathways (a physical process of chemical encoding) and of course, how it all comes out again before proceeding into someone else’s brain.

Asking ‘why?’ type causal questions, or trying to attribute agency becomes increasingly pointless. Rather we should stick to ‘how?’ When someone makes an assertion, the right response really is; who told you that? Nothing written on my blog is original, it’s just a series of links - OK! (And how come all these brain scientists are into eastern philosophies and meditation?)

Start with two very short TED talks; first Chris deCharms

http://www.ted.com/talks/christopher_decharms_scans_the_brain_in_real_time.html then proceed to the mighty ‘Rama’ http://www.ted.com/talks/vs_ramachandran_the_neurons_that_shaped_civilization.html For a good written introduction go to Daniel Goleman’s Social Intelligence http://www.amazon.co.uk/Social-Intelligence-Science-Human-Relationships/dp/0099464926/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263909589&sr=1-1 (he finally got the right title for a book!)