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The social brain hypothesis of schizophrenia.
| Content Provider | Europe PMC |
|---|---|
| Author | BURNS, JONATHAN |
| Description | The social brain hypothesis is a useful heuristic for understanding schizophrenia. It focuses attention on the core Bleulerian concept of autistic alienation and is consistent with well-replicated findings of social brain dysfunction in schizophrenia as well as contemporary theories of human cognitive and brain evolution. The contributions of Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty and Wittgenstein allow us to arrive at a new "philosophy of interpersonal relatedness", which better reflects the "embodied mind" and signifies the end of Cartesian dualistic thinking. In this paper I review the evolution, development and neurobiology of the social brain - the anatomical and functional substrate for adaptive social behaviour and cognition. Functional imaging identifies fronto-temporal and fronto-parietal cortical networks as comprising the social brain, while the discovery of "mirror neurons" provides an understanding of social cognition at a cellular level. Patients with schizophrenia display abnormalities in a wide range of social cognition tasks such as emotion recognition, theory of mind and affective responsiveness. Furthermore, recent research indicates that schizophrenia is a disorder of functional and structural connectivity of social brain networks. These findings lend support to the claim that schizophrenia represents a costly by-product of social brain evolution in Homo sapiens. Individuals with this disorder find themselves seriously disadvantaged in the social arena and vulnerable to the stresses of their complex social environments. This state of "disembodiment" and interpersonal alienation is the core phenomenon of schizophrenia and the root cause of intolerable suffering in the lives of those affected. |
| Abstract | The social brain hypothesis is a useful heuristic for understanding schizophrenia.It focuses attention on the core Bleulerian concept of autistic alienationand is consistent with well-replicated findings of social brain dysfunctionin schizophrenia as well as contemporary theories of human cognitive and brainevolution. The contributions of Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty and Wittgensteinallow us to arrive at a new "philosophy of interpersonal relatedness", whichbetter reflects the "embodied mind" and signifies the end of Cartesian dualisticthinking. In this paper I review the evolution, development and neurobiologyof the social brain - the anatomical and functional substrate for adaptivesocial behaviour and cognition. Functional imaging identifies fronto-temporaland fronto-parietal cortical networks as comprising the social brain, whilethe discovery of "mirror neurons" provides an understanding of social cognitionat a cellular level. Patients with schizophrenia display abnormalities ina wide range of social cognition tasks such as emotion recognition, theoryof mind and affective responsiveness. Furthermore, recent research indicatesthat schizophrenia is a disorder of functional and structural connectivityof social brain networks. These findings lend support to the claim that schizophreniarepresents a costly by-product of social brain evolution in Homo sapiens.Individuals with this disorder find themselves seriously disadvantaged inthe social arena and vulnerable to the stresses of their complex social environments.This state of "disembodiment" and interpersonal alienation is the core phenomenonof schizophrenia and the root cause of intolerable suffering in the livesof those affected. |
| Related Links | https://europepmc.org/backend/ptpmcrender.fcgi?accid=PMC1525115&blobtype=pdf |
| ISSN | 17238617 |
| Volume Number | 5 |
| PubMed Central reference number | PMC1525115 |
| Issue Number | 2 |
| PubMed reference number | 16946939 |
| Journal | World Psychiatry |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Masson Italy |
| Publisher Date | 2006-06-01 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Schizophrenia social brain autism evolution connectivity |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
| Subject | Psychiatry and Mental Health |
