Dr Sarah-Jayne Blakemore

The social brain: development during adolescence

Humans crave the company of others and suffer profoundly if temporarily isolated from society. The brain has evolved to deal with social communication and we are increasingly learning more about the neurophysiological basis of social cognition. In this talk, I will focus on two components of social cognition: how we understand others’ actions and how we attribute mental states to others. Structural brain imaging studies have recently revealed that areas within the social brain continue to develop during adolescence. I will discuss recent research looking at social cognitive development during adolescence.