As a cognitive neuroscientist, I am interested in understanding the neural architecture of social cognition in the human prefrontal cortex (PFC). The PFC has been studied for over a century, but many crucial questions about the function of the most human of brain areas remain unanswered. The social brain hypothesis links evolutionary pressure for brain enlargement and specialization to the need of solving complex social problems in unpredictable environments. The sophisticated neural architecture of the human PFC provided a vehicle for the emergence of social cognition and the ability to construct representations of the relations between oneself and others, and to use those representations flexibly to guide social behavior. Aside from an evolutionary approach of social behavior, one would like to know more about the specific neural systems that subserve various aspects of social cognition. Non-invasive imaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have provided a powerful new tool to investigate the mental and biological dimensions of social cognition in the brain. However, integrating the existing behavioral and neurobiological data into a coherent neuroscience picture remains a challenging enterprise.
By combining fMRI in healthy individuals with neuropsychological testing in patients with acquired focal brain lesions, I pursue the following three research lines in studying human social cognition and PFC functions. The first line of research attempts to comprehend to which extent cognition draws upon processes that are specialized for social information, and the relative contributions made to social cognition by acquired knowledge represented in the PFC. The second line of research attempts to understand the role of the PFC in evaluating economic decisions, categorizing risks and rewards, and regulating emotions while interacting in social relationships. The third line of research attempts to answer the question how the PFC represents social beliefs (e.g., moral, legal, political, religious) by integrating cultural context knowledge, social semantic knowledge as well as motivational and emotional states. In my opinion, a combined approach of using data from functional neuroimaging in healthy individuals and from patient studies can constrain cognitive theories and provide the field of cognitive neuroscience with new perspectives for a better understanding of the neural substrates of social cognition. In addition, it can help to transfer basic research findings into treatment for brain disorders ultimately providing benefits to human health.
