Social Neuroscience and Mental Processes: How Does Our Brain Process Social Information?

• Published in: Innovations in clinical neuroscience 2022-04, Vol.19 (4-6), p.33-35
• Main Authors: Teixeira, Gabriela Correia, Araújo, Ana Maria Mazon, de Andrade, Michael Jackson Oliveira
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2158-8333; 2158-8341

Neural mechanisms are traditionally examined from different theoretical angles. Similarly, social neuroscience emphasizes the important role that the social environment and neural systems play in the development of social behavior. Thus, this study aims to describe how social neuroscience uses the brain mapping theory and hypothesis testing approach to explain the functioning of social cognition. This approach points out that brain areas, such as the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), lateral temporal cortex, and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, are specialized in processing social information. These areas are also linked to the regulation of interpersonal relationships, social cooperation, values, empathy, and moral behavior. However, how does social neuroscience explain the phenomena of social behavior? What is the explanation of the social self? Social neuroscience has theoretical and methodological features that bring it closer to a paradigm of social research and neuroscience; the form of mechanistic analysis of biological and cognitive structures broadly describes a neurocognitive mechanism for explaining human social behavior.