The social brain

Abstract

This article considers different aspects of the new neuropsychological theory of the social brain and its relationship to Luria's and Vygotsky's understanding of a human as a social and biological unity. The main functions of social cognition are described. Five aspects of these functions and five groups of evidence are analyzed: the negative consequences of brain damage on social behavior and social cognition; the social features of early-childhood development; the double interaction between brain maturation and the formation of mental functions; the negative consequences of social neglect on brain development; and the social and cultural specificity of neuropsychological assessment methods. The proposed new understanding of the social brain is as the social and cultural regulator of brain functioning. © Lomonosov Moscow State University, 2013 © Russian Psychological Society, 2013.