Social Brain Concept as a Basis for Social Cognition and Its Deficits in Mental Disorders. Part I. 'Social Brain': Product of Modern Neuroscience

This paper aims to explore and evaluate the social brain concept that is widely discussed in foreign psychology. This concept refers to a certain system (group of systems) in the brain which is responsible for perceiving social objects, mediating and carrying out social interactions. The paper provides arguments of the concept's supporters as well as opponents: the former rely on the data on brain scanning and research into pathological conditions (for instance, one of the brain mechanisms responsible for the perception of other people's feelings and actions is the system of mirror neurons), while the latter emphasise the social genesis of cognitive processes and brain plasticity.