The Social Brain and The Need to Connect

I am a die hard fan of Dr Who, a British science fiction television series, in which the last of the Time Lords, (Dr Who) travels to different worlds in his amazing ship, the Tardis.

It’s a lonely life for the Doctor, whose world and people have long since been destroyed. Of course, it is the Doctor’s lovely lady companion, a woman from Planet Earth, who keeps him centred and helps him in his task of saving the different worlds from annhilation.

Now why am I going on about all of this? In one particular episode, New Earth, Dr Who discovers a hospital in which there are hundreds of pods containing artificially-grown humans, forcibly inflicted with numerous diseases. These human lab rats have never had contact with other humans and have never experienced being touched. Imagine that.

If you’ve not guessed it by now, the topic today is Social Brains.

The Channel 4 documentary, Man on Earth explores how Homo Sapiens survived the last Ice Age, and the events that led to the disappearance of their cousins, the Neanderthals. It is because the Neanderthals lacked our 'social brains', that they were unable to work out simple trades for goods and get help from outsiders, and this is what eventually led to their starvation and dying out in lonely communities.

Ralph Adolphs discusses the role of the social brain, or the “orbitofrontal cortex, which is located at the base of the frontal lobes, right behind the eyes, and the amygdala, a small structure deep within the brain. These two seem to integrate cognition and emotion, linking what we see in the outside world to an emotional response to it.” He describes the case of Phineas Gage and other patients who have suffered damage to the orbitofrontal cortex.

“If you ask these patients what their main difficulty in life is, they’ll tell you it’s social—they can’t understand other people’s emotions…In fact, their impairments in many respects resemble those seen in people with high-functioning autism.”

For more insight into the role and importance of social networks, the need to stay connected, and how even perceived isolation can be damaging, watch this video in which Professor John Cacioppo, co-founder of the study of social neuroscience, outlines the vital importance of altruistic behaviour, social connection, and inclusive communities.

Now what does all this tell us? And what should we now keep in mind when we try to create more effective learning programmes?