Social cognition

Abstract

Social cognitive neuroscience is a novel field of interdisciplinary research that examines socio-emotional cognition and behavior by emphasizing the neural substrates of these processes. Insights from this biological perspective have established that socio-emotional processing does not happen in a sequential order but in a recursive and interlinked fashion; that individual brain regions are not associated with one, but multiple, distinct social functions; and that brain regions are organized into dynamically interacting networks. These factors explain why it is difficult to pinpoint the neural substrates of particular social deficits in patients with brain diseases. With that said, there are specific brain regions that are highly specialized for the perception, regulation, and modulation of emotion and behavior. This article will review key aspects of social processing beginning with their underlying neural substrates, including (1) perception of social signals, (2) social and emotional evaluation, and (3) behavioral response generation and selection. Case studies will be used to illustrate the real-life social deficits resulting from distinct patterns of neuroanatomic damage, highlighting the brain regions most critical for adequate social behavior. Continuum Lifelong Learning Neurol 2010;16(4):69-85.

Figure 5-1

Regions of patient’s gray matter loss relative to age-matched female healthy subjects using voxel based morphometry. Voxel based morphometry reveals atrophy of the left occipitotemporal cortex, predominantly involving the inferior and medial occipital gyri. Regions of grey matter loss are superimposed on rendered and sliced images of a standard brain from a single normal subject. The sliced image is displayed in radiologic convention (left is right); the rendered image with posterior view is displayed in neurologic convention (left is left), ax =axial.

Figure 5-2

Regions of patient’s grey matter loss relative to age-matched male healthy subjects using voxel based morphometry. Voxel based morphometry reveals predominantly right-sided anterior temporal lobe atrophy, including the temporal pole, amygdala, anterior fusiform and parahippocampal cortices, and the inferior temporal gyrus and predominantly right-sided insular atrophy. Regions of grey matter loss are superimposed on rendered and sliced images of a standard brain from a single normal subject. Images are displayed in radiologic convention (left is right). cor = coronal, ax = axial,

Figure 5-3

Regions of patient’s grey matter loss relative to age-matched male healthy subjects using voxel based morphometry. Voxel based morphometry reveals predominantly right-sided atrophy of the frontal lobe, including the orbitofrontal cortex and the medial prefrontal and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices. In addition, there is atrophy of the right anterior caudate nucleus, right anterior insula, and the right anterior temporal lobe, in particular the temporal pole. Regions of grey matter loss are superimposed on rendered and sliced images of a standard brain from a single normal subject. Images are displayed in radiologic convention (left is right).