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Adaptive behavior and Social neuroscience

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silvana churruca
silvana churruca

This document discusses adaptive behavior and higher cognitive functions from a multidisciplinary perspective, focusing on the social factors that make humans unique. It compares humans, chimpanzees, and rhesus macaques in terms of genetics, brain structure, and social intelligence. While humans and chimpanzees share more genetic similarities, rhesus macaques have social behaviors more like humans. The field of social neuroscience examines how the brain mediates social interactions and behaviors through structures involved in mentalizing and empathizing. Understanding primate social organizations provides insights into the evolution of human societies driven by social intelligence.

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Adaptive Behavior ¿? About adaptive behavior on “Multidisciplinary perspective on higher cognitive functions” CSIM-UPF 2009
Chimpanzees... Homos... “We” (Apes) (Prehistoric man) (Contemporary man)
( ) ADN... Cells... Neurons...
( ) ADN... Cells... Neurons...
¿? Adaptive behavior society ....
Man threatened by predators
Dominate / control: Nature and all species...
What is the threat of modern man?
All other men....
Family Man (Social specie) Tribes, Clans, Mafias, Governments, Fraternity…
¿? How to understand what makes us human, without dealing with the social factor?
! human & social behavior are one* “ Humans are intensely social creatures and one of the major functions of our brains is to enable us to interact successfully in social groups. ” Tania Singer / Cognitive Neuroscience * at least some believe that...
By exploring the nature and evolution of macaque social organization, we can develop our knowledge of the rise of societies and their transformation during the course of evolution. Professor Darío Maestripieri University of Chicago HUMAN ≡ RHESUS MACAQUE Comparative Human In the struggle for survival, both resorted to the same solution: Development SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE Evolutionary Biology Neurobiology
…in the last episody What make us human? ≡ = =↑ 99% = ↓93% HUMAN CHIMPANZEE HUMAN RHESUS MACAQUE > More different genetic spoken, but more similar in social behavior.
SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE ? HUMAN ≡ RHESUS MACAQUE > Deal with friends > Build partnerships > Power struggles = ↓93% > Trading in influence... • Use sex for social purpose = • Tends to nepotism • In both there is a quest for power (by itself) and as a means to get everything else (food, sex .. et) ----> MACACHIAVELISMO (MACACO + MACHIAVELO) ≠ • Female Role What make us human? SOCIAL FACTOR
HUMAN 1 RHESUS MACAQUE 2 CHIMPANZEE 3 Chimpanzee is more “intelligence” in many aspects than Macaco. But the macaque is most successful (¿?) > Because, like humans macaques are sociable.
What make us human? SOCIAL FACTOR Social Family Intelligence Interpersonal Intelligence To Howard Gardner “We are more We're very good dedicated to our understanding what children than any others think, or other species.” trying to do it. (Mind reading & empathy)
SOCIAL FACTOR Social neuroscience > Focusing on how the > Investigate the brain mediates confluence of neural social interactions and social processes. (Methodology) • Functional MRI, • Transcranial magnetic stimulation, • Electrocardiograms, + • Electromyograms, • Endocrinology...
Social neuroscience Social These structures evolved with specie: neural and hormonal mechanisms >create organizations beyond the to support them. individual (families, cities, civilizations, and cultures...) (because social behavior helped these organisms to survive) SN started to provide insights into > Often used as synonyms. neural mechanism underlying our capacity to*: > Sometimes the term empathy is dividing it into two subcomponents, emotional and cognitive empathy. Represent others people’s Share the feelings of others intentions and beliefs (in the absence of any direct emotional stimulation to themselves) Mentalizing (ToM) Emphaty These concepts refer to our ability to put ourselves in the shoes of another person, be it in their mental or emotional shoes. > Allow human beings to represent the states of other people (mental or emotional) > Predict others’ behavior Successfully engage in social interactions. * T. Singer. There is neurological evidence for these division.
Mentalize > Distinct and relay on different Emphatize neuro-cognitive circuits ☺+ ☹ = ☺☺ (share others feelings) sharing the grief of a close friend feels fundamentally different than (reflect upon others) understanding what this person is having as thoughts and intentions, the latter lacking a bodily sensation. > Empathy is crucial for the creation of affective bonds between mother and child, and later >This ability is absent in monkeys and only exists in a between partners and larger social rudimentary form in apes. groups > The lack of a ToM in most > Observation or imagination of autistic children could explain another person in a particular their observed failures in emotional state automatically communication and social interaction activates a representation of that state in the observer with its associated autonomic and somatic responses. Brain activity associated with different empathic responses ( domains of Several studies have repeatedly given touch, smell and pain): evidence for the involvement of three brain areas: ● Activation in anterior insula (AI) cortex, ● the temporal poles, (associated with the processing and feeling of ● the posterior superior temporal disgust) sulcus (STS) and most consistently ● Activation in secondary somato-sensory ● an area in the medial pre-frontal cortex (SII) (involved in processing and feeling lobe (mPFC) the sensation of touch). >Activate when mentalizing about thoughts, intentions or beliefs of others but also when people are attending to their own mental states.
≠ > Evidence for neuronal correlates of mind reading and empathy Emphatize Mentalize sharing sensations and emotions with others > different ontogenetic trajectories ability to understand the mental states of others associated with limbic and para-limbic structures Related with structures that belong to (‘‘emotional’’ or ‘‘social’’ brain) Neo-cortex reflecting the differential development of the underlying brain structures developed late in phylogeny. developed early in phylogeny.
Mirror neurons…. The discovery of mirror neurons demonstrated that a translation mechanism is present in the primate brain and automatically elicited when viewing others’ actions A newborn macaque imitates tongue protrusion more than just imitation.... > Mirror system might underlie our ability > in Terms of Evolutionary Theory to understand other people’s intentions provides a great ADVANTAGE (to humans) by providing us with an automatic Human can bring an action to conclusion > simulation of their actions, goals and before it concludes in real time intentions. (having the possibility of taking immediate action to avoid danger)
References Singer, Tania. The neuronal basis and ontogeny of empathy and mind reading: Review of literature and implications for futer research. Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Welcome Department of Imaging Neuroscience, University College of London, 17 Queen Square, WC1N 3AR London, UK http://eprints.nuim.ie/1003/1/Haydn__MPP_issue_4_2007.pdf Gurmin, J. Haydn. Edith Stein, and Tania Singer. A comparison of Phenomenological and Neurological Approaches to the ‘Problem of Empathy’. Maynooth Philosophical Papers Issue 4 (2007). An Anthology of Current Research http://primate.uchicago.edu/dario.htm http://www.redesparalaciencia.com/1659/redes/2009/redes-46-macacos-y-humanos-el-secreto-del-exito http://www.redesparalaciencia.com/1637/redes/2009/redes-45-el-experto-y-sabio-inconsciente http://www.elcervellsocial.net/backend/imagenes_panel/almacen_documentos/textos_profesores.pdf http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurociencia_social http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurona_espejo http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=11777 http://jn.physiology.org/cgi/content/abstract/69/6/1810 Gustatory neural coding in the amygdala of the alert macaque monkey T. R. Scott, Z. Karadi, Y. Oomura, H. Nishino, C. R. Plata-Salaman, L. Lenard, B. K. Giza and S. Aou. National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Myodaiji, Japan.

More Related Content

Adaptive behavior and Social neuroscience

  • 1. Adaptive Behavior ¿? About adaptive behavior on “Multidisciplinary perspective on higher cognitive functions” CSIM-UPF 2009
  • 2. Chimpanzees... Homos... “We” (Apes) (Prehistoric man) (Contemporary man)
  • 3. ( ) ADN... Cells... Neurons...
  • 4. ( ) ADN... Cells... Neurons...
  • 5. ¿? Adaptive behavior society ....
  • 6. Man threatened by predators
  • 7. Dominate / control: Nature and all species...
  • 8. What is the threat of modern man?
  • 10. Family Man (Social specie) Tribes, Clans, Mafias, Governments, Fraternity…
  • 11. ¿? How to understand what makes us human, without dealing with the social factor?
  • 12. ! human & social behavior are one* “ Humans are intensely social creatures and one of the major functions of our brains is to enable us to interact successfully in social groups. ” Tania Singer / Cognitive Neuroscience * at least some believe that...
  • 13. By exploring the nature and evolution of macaque social organization, we can develop our knowledge of the rise of societies and their transformation during the course of evolution. Professor Darío Maestripieri University of Chicago HUMAN ≡ RHESUS MACAQUE Comparative Human In the struggle for survival, both resorted to the same solution: Development SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE Evolutionary Biology Neurobiology
  • 14. …in the last episody What make us human? ≡ = =↑ 99% = ↓93% HUMAN CHIMPANZEE HUMAN RHESUS MACAQUE > More different genetic spoken, but more similar in social behavior.
  • 15. SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE ? HUMAN ≡ RHESUS MACAQUE > Deal with friends > Build partnerships > Power struggles = ↓93% > Trading in influence... • Use sex for social purpose = • Tends to nepotism • In both there is a quest for power (by itself) and as a means to get everything else (food, sex .. et) ----> MACACHIAVELISMO (MACACO + MACHIAVELO) ≠ • Female Role What make us human? SOCIAL FACTOR
  • 16. HUMAN 1 RHESUS MACAQUE 2 CHIMPANZEE 3 Chimpanzee is more “intelligence” in many aspects than Macaco. But the macaque is most successful (¿?) > Because, like humans macaques are sociable.
  • 17. What make us human? SOCIAL FACTOR Social Family Intelligence Interpersonal Intelligence To Howard Gardner “We are more We're very good dedicated to our understanding what children than any others think, or other species.” trying to do it. (Mind reading & empathy)
  • 18. SOCIAL FACTOR Social neuroscience > Focusing on how the > Investigate the brain mediates confluence of neural social interactions and social processes. (Methodology) • Functional MRI, • Transcranial magnetic stimulation, • Electrocardiograms, + • Electromyograms, • Endocrinology...
  • 19. Social neuroscience Social These structures evolved with specie: neural and hormonal mechanisms >create organizations beyond the to support them. individual (families, cities, civilizations, and cultures...) (because social behavior helped these organisms to survive) SN started to provide insights into > Often used as synonyms. neural mechanism underlying our capacity to*: > Sometimes the term empathy is dividing it into two subcomponents, emotional and cognitive empathy. Represent others people’s Share the feelings of others intentions and beliefs (in the absence of any direct emotional stimulation to themselves) Mentalizing (ToM) Emphaty These concepts refer to our ability to put ourselves in the shoes of another person, be it in their mental or emotional shoes. > Allow human beings to represent the states of other people (mental or emotional) > Predict others’ behavior Successfully engage in social interactions. * T. Singer. There is neurological evidence for these division.
  • 20. Mentalize > Distinct and relay on different Emphatize neuro-cognitive circuits ☺+ ☹ = ☺☺ (share others feelings) sharing the grief of a close friend feels fundamentally different than (reflect upon others) understanding what this person is having as thoughts and intentions, the latter lacking a bodily sensation. > Empathy is crucial for the creation of affective bonds between mother and child, and later >This ability is absent in monkeys and only exists in a between partners and larger social rudimentary form in apes. groups > The lack of a ToM in most > Observation or imagination of autistic children could explain another person in a particular their observed failures in emotional state automatically communication and social interaction activates a representation of that state in the observer with its associated autonomic and somatic responses. Brain activity associated with different empathic responses ( domains of Several studies have repeatedly given touch, smell and pain): evidence for the involvement of three brain areas: ● Activation in anterior insula (AI) cortex, ● the temporal poles, (associated with the processing and feeling of ● the posterior superior temporal disgust) sulcus (STS) and most consistently ● Activation in secondary somato-sensory ● an area in the medial pre-frontal cortex (SII) (involved in processing and feeling lobe (mPFC) the sensation of touch). >Activate when mentalizing about thoughts, intentions or beliefs of others but also when people are attending to their own mental states.
  • 21. ≠ > Evidence for neuronal correlates of mind reading and empathy Emphatize Mentalize sharing sensations and emotions with others > different ontogenetic trajectories ability to understand the mental states of others associated with limbic and para-limbic structures Related with structures that belong to (‘‘emotional’’ or ‘‘social’’ brain) Neo-cortex reflecting the differential development of the underlying brain structures developed late in phylogeny. developed early in phylogeny.
  • 22. Mirror neurons…. The discovery of mirror neurons demonstrated that a translation mechanism is present in the primate brain and automatically elicited when viewing others’ actions A newborn macaque imitates tongue protrusion more than just imitation.... > Mirror system might underlie our ability > in Terms of Evolutionary Theory to understand other people’s intentions provides a great ADVANTAGE (to humans) by providing us with an automatic Human can bring an action to conclusion > simulation of their actions, goals and before it concludes in real time intentions. (having the possibility of taking immediate action to avoid danger)
  • 23. References Singer, Tania. The neuronal basis and ontogeny of empathy and mind reading: Review of literature and implications for futer research. Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Welcome Department of Imaging Neuroscience, University College of London, 17 Queen Square, WC1N 3AR London, UK http://eprints.nuim.ie/1003/1/Haydn__MPP_issue_4_2007.pdf Gurmin, J. Haydn. Edith Stein, and Tania Singer. A comparison of Phenomenological and Neurological Approaches to the ‘Problem of Empathy’. Maynooth Philosophical Papers Issue 4 (2007). An Anthology of Current Research http://primate.uchicago.edu/dario.htm http://www.redesparalaciencia.com/1659/redes/2009/redes-46-macacos-y-humanos-el-secreto-del-exito http://www.redesparalaciencia.com/1637/redes/2009/redes-45-el-experto-y-sabio-inconsciente http://www.elcervellsocial.net/backend/imagenes_panel/almacen_documentos/textos_profesores.pdf http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurociencia_social http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurona_espejo http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=11777 http://jn.physiology.org/cgi/content/abstract/69/6/1810 Gustatory neural coding in the amygdala of the alert macaque monkey T. R. Scott, Z. Karadi, Y. Oomura, H. Nishino, C. R. Plata-Salaman, L. Lenard, B. K. Giza and S. Aou. National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Myodaiji, Japan.