Jean Decety - Böcker

The complexities of the brain and nervous system make neuroscience an inherently interdisciplinary pursuit, one that comprises disparate basic, clinical, and applied disciplines. Behavioral neuroscientists approach the brain and nervous system as instruments of sensation and response; cognitive neuroscientists view the same systems as a solitary computer with a focus on representations and processes.The Oxford Handbook of Social Neuroscience marks the emergence of a third broad perspective in this field. Social neuroscience emphasizes the functions that emerge through the coaction and interaction of conspecifics, the neural mechanisms that underlie these functions, and the commonality and differences across social species and superorganismal structures.With an emphasis on the neural, hormonal, cellular, and genetic mechanisms underlying social behavior, social neuroscience places emphasis on the associations and influences between social and biological levels of organization. This complex interdisciplinary perspective demands theoretical, methodological, statistical, and inferential rigor to effectively integrate basic, clinical, and applied perspectives on the nervous system and brain. Reflecting the diverse perspectives that make up this field, The Oxford Handbook of Social Neuroscience brings together perspectives from across the sciences in one authoritative volume.

The complexities of the brain and nervous system make neuroscience an inherently interdisciplinary pursuit, one that comprises disparate basic, clinical, and applied disciplines. Behavioral neuroscientists approach the brain and nervous system as instruments of sensation and response; cognitive neuroscientists view the same systems as a solitary computer with a focus on representations and processes.The Oxford Handbook of Social Neuroscience marks the emergence of a third broad perspective in this field. Social neuroscience emphasizes the functions that emerge through the coaction and interaction of conspecifics, the neural mechanisms that underlie these functions, and the commonality and differences across social species and superorganismal structures.With an emphasis on the neural, hormonal, cellular, and genetic mechanisms underlying social behavior, social neuroscience places emphasis on the associations and influences between social and biological levels of organization. This complex interdisciplinary perspective demands theoretical, methodological, statistical, and inferential rigor to effectively integrate basic, clinical, and applied perspectives on the nervous system and brain. Reflecting the diverse perspectives that make up this field, The Oxford Handbook of Social Neuroscience brings together perspectives from across the sciences in one authoritative volume.

Perception and Action have long been considered as two separate information processes and have accordingly been investigated in relative isolation from one another. However, it is now acknowledged that perception and action are functionally related. This special issue presents original contributions from cognitive neuroscientists and cognitive neuropsychologists who address this area from different complementary perspectives.Functional imaging investigations have recently extended to the study of several cognitive processes involved in the recognition of actions or body parts. Two papers report on brain-activation experiments in healthy human subjects during the recognition of hand positions and during the perception of human actions. The visual mechanisms underlying the perception of biological movements are investigated in normal subjects, with the use of the apparent motion paradigm. Several papers deal with neuropsychological cases, with apraxic patients, with Parkinson patients, and with an agnosic patient. The study of perception and action is relevant to psychopathology, as attested to by the work on autistic patients. A review paper on willed action and its physiological basis is also presented.

Social Cognition brings together diverse and timely writings that highlight cutting-edge research and theories on the development of social cognition and social behavior across species and the life span. The volume is organized according to two central themes that address issues of continuity and change both at the phylogenetic and the ontogenetic level. First, it addresses to what extent social cognitive abilities and behaviors are shared across species, versus abilities and capacities that are uniquely human. Second, it covers to what extent social cognitive abilities and behaviors are continuous across periods of development within and across the life span, versus their change with age. This volume offers a fresh perspective on social cognition and behavior, and shows the value of bringing together different disciplines to illuminate our understanding of the origins, mechanisms, functions, and development of the many capacities that have evolved to facilitate and regulate a wide variety of behaviors fine-tuned to group living.

Social Cognition brings together diverse and timely writings that highlight cutting-edge research and theories on the development of social cognition and social behavior across species and the life span. The volume is organized according to two central themes that address issues of continuity and change both at the phylogenetic and the ontogenetic level. First, it addresses to what extent social cognitive abilities and behaviors are shared across species, versus abilities and capacities that are uniquely human. Second, it covers to what extent social cognitive abilities and behaviors are continuous across periods of development within and across the life span, versus their change with age. This volume offers a fresh perspective on social cognition and behavior, and shows the value of bringing together different disciplines to illuminate our understanding of the origins, mechanisms, functions, and development of the many capacities that have evolved to facilitate and regulate a wide variety of behaviors fine-tuned to group living.

Perception and Action have long been considered as two separate information processes and have accordingly been investigated in relative isolation from one another. However, it is now acknowledged that perception and action are functionally related. This special issue presents original contributions from cognitive neuroscientists and cognitive neuropsychologists who address this area from different complementary perspectives.Functional imaging investigations have recently extended to the study of several cognitive processes involved in the recognition of actions or body parts. Two papers report on brain-activation experiments in healthy human subjects during the recognition of hand positions and during the perception of human actions. The visual mechanisms underlying the perception of biological movements are investigated in normal subjects, with the use of the apparent motion paradigm. Several papers deal with neuropsychological cases, with apraxic patients, with Parkinson patients, and with an agnosic patient. The study of perception and action is relevant to psychopathology, as attested to by the work on autistic patients. A review paper on willed action and its physiological basis is also presented.

Interpersonal sensitivity refers to our ability to perceive and respond with care to the internal states of other people, understand the antecedents of those states, and predict the subsequent events that will result. Guest editors neuroscientist Jean Decety and social psychologist Dan Batson bring together in this special issue of Social Neuroscience new research findings from empirical studies, including work with adults and children, genetics, functional neuroimaging, individual differences, and behavioral measures, which examine how we process and respond to information about our fellow individuals. By combining biological and psychological approaches, this special issue of Social Neuroscience sheds new light on the complex and multi-faceted phenomenon of interpersonal sensitivity, including empathy and sympathy.

Interpersonal sensitivity refers to our ability to perceive and respond with care to the internal states of other people, understand the antecedents of those states, and predict the subsequent events that will result. Guest editors neuroscientist Jean Decety and social psychologist Dan Batson bring together in this special issue of Social Neuroscience new research findings from empirical studies, including work with adults and children, genetics, functional neuroimaging, individual differences, and behavioral measures, which examine how we process and respond to information about our fellow individuals. By combining biological and psychological approaches, this special issue of Social Neuroscience sheds new light on the complex and multi-faceted phenomenon of interpersonal sensitivity, including empathy and sympathy.

Traditionally, neuroscience has considered the nervous system as an isolated entity and largely ignored influences of the social environments in which humans and many animal species live. However, there is mounting evidence that the social environment affects behavior across species, from microbes to humans.This volume brings together scholars who work with animal and human models of social behavior to discuss the challenges and opportunities in this interdisciplinary academic field.