Introduction to social neuroscience
Hyperscanning: The simultaneous recording from two or more different brains.
Social psychology: An attempt to understand and explain how the thoughts, feelings, and
behaviors of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of
others.
Cognitive psychology: The study of mental processes such as thinking, perceiving,
speaking, acting, and planning.
Ecological validity: An approach or measure that is meaningful outside of the laboratory
context.
Modularity: The notion that certain cognitive processes, or regions of the brain, are
restricted in the type of information they process and the type of processing carried out.
Domain specificity: The idea that a cognitive process (or brain region) is specialized for
processing only one particular kind of information.
Reductionism: One type of explanation will become replaced with another, more basic, type
of explanation over time.
Reverse inference: An attempt to infer the nature of cognitive processes from neuroscience
(notably neuroimaging) data.
Blank slate: The idea that the brain learns environmental contingencies without imposing
any biases, constraints, or preexisting knowledge on that learning.
Cultural neuroscience: An interdisciplinary field bridging cultural psychology,
neurosciences, and neurogenetics.
Collectivist culture: The goals of the social group are emphasized over individual goals.
Individualist culture: The goals of the individual are emphasized over the social group.
The brain
Neurons: A type of cell that makes up the nervous system.
Dendrites: Branching structures that receive information from other neurons.
Axon: A branching structure that carries information away from the cell body towards other
neurons and transmits action potentials.
Synapse: The small gap between neurons in which neurotransmitters are released,
permitting signaling between neurons.
White matter: Tissue of the nervous system consisting primarily of axons and support cells.
Gray matter: Tissue of the nervous system consisting primarily of neuronal cell bodies.
Glia: Support cells of the nervous system involved in tissue repair and in the formation of
myelin (amongst other functions).
Gyri: The raised folds of the cortex.
Sulci: The buried grooves of the cortex.
Basal ganglia: Regions of subcortical gray matter involved in aspects of motor control and
skill learning; they consist of structures such as the caudate nucleus, putamen, and globus
pallidus.
Limbic system: A region of subcortex involved in relating the organism to the environment;
it includes the amygdala, hippocampus, cingulate cortex, and mammillary bodies.
Diencephalon: Subcortical gray matter including the thalamus and hypothalamus.
Thalamus: A major subcortical relay centre; for instance, it is a processing station between
all sensory organs (except smell) and the cortex.
Hypothalamus: Consists of a variety of nuclei that are specialized for different functions that
are primarily concerned with the body and its regulation.
Hyperscanning: The simultaneous recording from two or more different brains.
Social psychology: An attempt to understand and explain how the thoughts, feelings, and
behaviors of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of
others.
Cognitive psychology: The study of mental processes such as thinking, perceiving,
speaking, acting, and planning.
Ecological validity: An approach or measure that is meaningful outside of the laboratory
context.
Modularity: The notion that certain cognitive processes, or regions of the brain, are
restricted in the type of information they process and the type of processing carried out.
Domain specificity: The idea that a cognitive process (or brain region) is specialized for
processing only one particular kind of information.
Reductionism: One type of explanation will become replaced with another, more basic, type
of explanation over time.
Reverse inference: An attempt to infer the nature of cognitive processes from neuroscience
(notably neuroimaging) data.
Blank slate: The idea that the brain learns environmental contingencies without imposing
any biases, constraints, or preexisting knowledge on that learning.
Cultural neuroscience: An interdisciplinary field bridging cultural psychology,
neurosciences, and neurogenetics.
Collectivist culture: The goals of the social group are emphasized over individual goals.
Individualist culture: The goals of the individual are emphasized over the social group.
The brain
Neurons: A type of cell that makes up the nervous system.
Dendrites: Branching structures that receive information from other neurons.
Axon: A branching structure that carries information away from the cell body towards other
neurons and transmits action potentials.
Synapse: The small gap between neurons in which neurotransmitters are released,
permitting signaling between neurons.
White matter: Tissue of the nervous system consisting primarily of axons and support cells.
Gray matter: Tissue of the nervous system consisting primarily of neuronal cell bodies.
Glia: Support cells of the nervous system involved in tissue repair and in the formation of
myelin (amongst other functions).
Gyri: The raised folds of the cortex.
Sulci: The buried grooves of the cortex.
Basal ganglia: Regions of subcortical gray matter involved in aspects of motor control and
skill learning; they consist of structures such as the caudate nucleus, putamen, and globus
pallidus.
Limbic system: A region of subcortex involved in relating the organism to the environment;
it includes the amygdala, hippocampus, cingulate cortex, and mammillary bodies.
Diencephalon: Subcortical gray matter including the thalamus and hypothalamus.
Thalamus: A major subcortical relay centre; for instance, it is a processing station between
all sensory organs (except smell) and the cortex.
Hypothalamus: Consists of a variety of nuclei that are specialized for different functions that
are primarily concerned with the body and its regulation.
