The social brain monitors the interactions between individuals in a society, between parents and their children, between spouses or partners, between friends and society as a whole. Many different parts of the brain are involved, reflecting the critical role of such interactions for socialization. These parts include:
- The limbic system that adds emotional flavoring to life.
- The amygdala that teaches us who and what to be afraid of.
- The hormones oxytocin and vasopressin that are involved in pair bonding, monogamy, love, maternal care, and trust of others.
- The orbitofrontal prefrontal lobes that allow us to be connected to our emotions through the limbic system and the autonomic nervous system. This system controls our emotional behavior and allows us to have empathy and understand the emotions of others. Antisocial behavior is common when this area is dysfunctional.
- The medial frontal cortex that is involved in “theory of mind” tasks and allows us to put ourselves into the mind of others.
- The inferior frontal gyrus and inferior temporal module that are involved in mirroring and allow us to understand the physical actions and intentions of others.
