Decision-making is an integral part of our daily lives. Researchers seek a complete understanding of the decision-making process, including the biological and social basis and the impact of our decisions. "From DNA to Social Cognition" fills a gap in the literature that brings together the methods, perspectives, and knowledge of the geneticists, neuroscientists, economists, and psychologists that are integral to this field of research. The editors' unique expertise ensures an integrated and complete compilation of materials that will prove useful to researchers and scientists interested in social cognition and decision-making.
Contributors vii
Introduction 1
Part 1 Empathy: Neural Bases And Genetic Correlates 19
1.1 Genes Related to Autistic Traits and Empathy 21
1.2 The Behavioral Genetics of Human Pair Bonding 37
1.3 Brain Networks Supporting Empathy 47
1.4 The Human Mirror Neuron System and Social Cognition 63
1.5 Motivational Aspects of Future Thinking in the Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex 81
Part 2 Moral Neuroscience And Emotion 91
2.1 Contributions of the Prefrontal Cortex to Social Cognition and Moral Judgment Processes 93
2.2 Emotion and Moral Cognition 111
2.3 The Neuroanatomical Basis of Moral Cognition and Emotion 123
2.4 Envy and Schadenfreude: The Neural Correlates of Competitive Emotions 139
Part 3 Genes and Decision Making 157
3.1 The Somatic Marker Framework and the Neurological Basis of Decision Making 159
3.2 A Model of the Initial Stages of Drug Abuse: From Reinforcement Learning to Social Contagion 185
3.3 Extrinsic Effects and Models of Dominance Hierarchy Formation 203
3.4 Complex Social Cognition and the Appreciation of Social Norms in Psychiatric Disorders: Insights from Evolutionary Game Theory 215
3.5 From Neuroeconomics to Genetics: The Intertemporal Choices Case as an Example 233
Index 245