Sosiaalinen neurotiede nyt

Humans are inherently social animals and need the company of others for their well-being. Accumulating evidence suggests that our cognitive system as well as the associated neural networks include domain specific mechanisms specialized for processing information from other people. This information is necessary for efficient and smooth social interaction. This article first describes findings from two main areas of social neuroscience research: processing of visual information from other people’s faces and bodies, and processing of (non-visible) information about other people's minds. After this, the article focuses on the big challenges the researchers on the field are facing: how to move on from the typical laboratory experiments in which participants are often mere spectators looking at pictures of other people. How to design studies which are genuinely social?