Journal

The Japanese journal of neuropsychology

[Vol.23 No.4 contents]
Japanese/English

Full Text of this Article
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ArticleTitle Neural bases of social intelligence and social cognition
Language J
AuthorList Toshiya Murai
Affiliation Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University
Publication Japanese Journal of Neuropsychology: 23 (4), 243-249, 2007
Received
Accepted
Abstract There has been a growing interest and development in the neural bases of human social intelligence or social cognition in the past ten years. Accordingly, our real-life topics such as prejudice or empathy can be investigated in cognitive and neural levels. One of the key debates in the research area of "social neuroscience" is whether the underlying neural bases are specialized in the processing of social information or not. A set of brain regions are implicated to be dedicated to social cognition. Such regions include the amygdala, the superior temporal sulcus, the temporo-parietal junction, and the medial prefrontal cortex. In addition, the "mirror systems" enable us to understand others' intentions or feelings directly and automatically.
Keywords social brain, social cognition, amygdala, medial prefrontal cortex, theory of mind, mirror neuron

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