The Social Brain

Social Neuroscience and Psychopathology

The case of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Social Neuroscience is a relatively new area of study under the umbrella of psychology, and is to-date quite an effective one. It is used in the fields of economics (to understand social decision making), health (influence of social interactions, the empathy and support one receives), as well as law (to understand punishment and moral reasoning). Social neuroscience is an interdisciplinary field which presents forth the discussion between biological processes and social interactions- once thought to be completely unrelated fields. This newer understanding of human psychology leads to better understanding of the working of the human mind as well as more innovative solutions to mental disorders. Here, I will discuss one of those disorders- ASD and the concept of the Social Brain. The social brain and ASD co-relate this correlation and its implications require furthers research. The understanding of social neuroscience and the social brain is nascent (both came in use in the 1990s) but important in the progress of mental health and psychology as a whole.

The social brain is hypothesised to consist of the amygdala, the orbital frontal cortex (OFC), fusiform gyrus (FG), and the posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS) region, among other structures. The social brain is an important part of the social perception of a person and is believed to enable the understanding of actions and intentions of other people, i.e., it supports social processing. The social brain hypothesis was first presented by British anthropologist Robert Dunbar who argued that human intelligence evolved primarily as a means of surviving and reproducing in large social groups. The theory was presented first to explain the evolution and development of the human brain, the huge size of the human brain and the adaptation of the Homeo Sapiens for social interaction. This concept of social brain  has long evolved and is used today in the field of social neuroscience.

Though ASD was diagnosed 70 years ago, the criteria of its diagnosis has not been set in stone. The basic social understanding of a person is affected in cases of ASD. The social processing is also a function of the social brain. Making a correlation between ASD and the social brain is straightforward (both are related to the social perception) but this does not necessarily point to a conclusive causation (if the problems in the social brain causes ASD or visa-versa). This leads to believe that, if the concept of social brain can be studied in detail then there may be ways to understand and possibly cure ASD. The relationship between the social brain and ASD is of great interest in many studies pertaining to them. 

Autistic disfunction has origins in the social brain systems, but exerts great influence during important periods of development. The secondary impact of this influence can be seen in the social functions of the people having autism, which worsen over time. For example, face perception is affected in people suffering from ASD. “Social deficits might result from inborn difficulties with perceiving faces; in contrast, difficulties with face perception might simply reflect a consequence of failing to attend to faces during important periods of development (McPartland and Pelphrey, 2012).”

The research in the field has not progressed enough yet to pinpoint to what extent do the anomalies in the social brain affect ASD, if at all. A great hope for curing ASD lies in the apparent plasticity of the many functions of the social brains. The challenges faced by patients  having ASD include recognising emotions, restricted and repetitive behaviours, eye contact, face perception, inability to seek emotional comfort, etc. Although ASD is not completely curable, some of the symptoms of ASD can be elevated through various kinds of teaching methods and therapy. Thus, rather than ASD being an incurable condition, remediation of the difficulties encountered may be possible. 

Although the concept of the social brain has evolved since it was introduced almost 30 years ago, the research that has focused on the social brain being connected with various mental health concerns is still limited. Dwelling in this area of research may provide some necessary understanding of the facets of certain mental concerns and their treatment. Further research may lead to better conclusions the ideas discussed above and therein lies the importance continuation of research in the relationship between certain mental disorders and the social brain.

BIBILOGRAPHY

1. Adolphs R. (2009). The social brain: neural basis of social knowledge. Annual review of psychology, 60, 693–716. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.60.110707.163514

2. Kaiser, M. D., Hudac, C. M., Shultz, S., Lee, S. M., Cheung, C., Berken, A. M., ... & Saulnier, C. A. (2010). Neural signatures of autism. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(49), 21223-21228.

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4. McPartland, J. C., & Pelphrey, K. A. (2012). The implications of social neuroscience for social disability. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 42(6), 1256–1262. doi:10.1007/s10803-012-1514-z

5. Ochsner, K. N., & Lieberman, M. D. (2001). The emergence of social cognitive neuroscience. American Psychologist, 56(9), 717.

6. Pelphrey, K. A. (2019). Autism: insights from the study of the social brain. In R. Biswas-Diener & E. Diener (Eds), Noba textbook series: Psychology. Champaign, IL: DEF publishers. Retrieved from http://noba.to/yqdepwgt