The Social Brain. Evolution and Pathology

Provides an inter-disciplinary exploration of the development of social cognition in humans and looks at the psychiatric implications when these processes go awry. The resulting brain disorders or psychopathologies can manifest in various forms such as autism, schizophrenia, delusional disorders, affective disorders (bipolar disease), and borderline personality disorders of old age (dementia). There is increasing interest in what determines our social awareness and behaviour and essentially this book applies "theory of mind" to psychiatry and psychopathology. With contributions from leading authorities in the field, this will be a standard reference for years to come.

Contents

List of Contributors.
Preface (M. Brüne, et al.).

Introduction (L. Brothers).

PART I: EVOLUTIONARY ASPECTS OF THE 'SOCIAL BRAIN'.

Stereotypy vs. Plasticity in Vertebrate Cognition (C. Strungaru).

Is the Human Brain Unique? (G. Roth).

Tracing the Evolutionary Path of Cognition (R. Byrne).

ProtocadherinXY: a Candidate Gene for Cerebral Asymmetry and Language (T. Crow).

Part II: CULTURE AND THE 'SOCIAL BRAIN'.

Evolution of the Cultured Mind: Lessons from Wild Chimpanzees (W. McGrew).

Ninye Kanye: the Human Mind. Traditional Papuan Societies as Models to Understand Evolution towards the Social Brain (W. Schiefenhövel).

PART III: DEVELOPMENTAL ASPECTS OF THE 'SOCIAL BRAIN'.

Big Brains, Slow Development, and Social Complexity: The Developmental and Evolutionary Origins of Social Cognition (D. Bjorklund & J. Bering).

Where Is 'The Other' in the Self? Multiplicity, Unity, and Transformation of the Self from a Developmental Standpoint (I. Josephs & H. Ribbert).

PART IV: PATHOLOGIES OF THE 'SOCIAL BRAIN'.

The Social Brain in Autism (F. Volkmar, et al.).

Do Children with ADHD not Need Their Frontal Lobes for Theory of Mind? A Review of Brain Imaging and Neuropsychological Studies (W. Kain & J. Perner).

Social Cognition following Prefrontal Cortical Lesions (R. Morris, et al.).

Social Cognition at the Neural Level: Invesigations in Autism, Psychopathy and Schizophrenia (T. Russell & T. Sharma).

Social Cognition and Behaviour in Schizophrenia (M. Brüne).

Theory of Mind Delusions and Bizarre Delusions in an Evolutionary Perspective: Psychiatry and the Social Brain (B. Charlton).

Social Cognition in Paranoia and Bipolar Affective Disorder (P. Kinderman).

Psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and Theory of Mind (L. Mealey & S. Kinner).

Borderline Personality Disorder Theory of Mind: An Evolutionary Perspective (G. Dammann).

Awareness and Theory of Mind in Dementia (S. Starkstein & M. Garau).

Postscript (M. Brüne, et al.).

Index.