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Memory and social interactions
Memory supports and enables social interactions in a variety of ways. In order to engage in successful social interaction, people must be able to remember how they should interact with one another, whom they have interacted with previously, and what occurred during those interactions. There are a lot of brain processes and functions that go into the application and use of memory in social interactions, as well as psychological reasoning for its importance.
The ability to visually identify previous social partners is essential for successful interactions because it aids in recognizing which partners can and cannot be trusted. In humans, this is accomplished by facial recognition. Research suggests that humans are born with an innate ability to process other human faces. In one study, Pascalis, et al. (1995) found that four-day-old neonates (infants) prefer to look at their mothers' faces rather than at a stranger's face. This finding suggests that neonates are able to remember, recognize, and differentiate between faces. Further research suggests that humans prefer to focus on faces rather than non-face alternatives. Such specialized processing for faces aids in the encoding of memory for people. This preference is one explanation for why humans are more proficient at memorizing faces than non-faces.
There are several areas of the brain associated with the highly specialized form of memory for faces.
The fusiform face area (FFA) is associated with facial recognition. It is generally located on the fusiform gyrus in the temporal lobe, but its precise location varies between individuals. The FFA has been found to show a degree of lateralization, or what side of the brain the activity is likely to be found. Typically, it is larger in the right hemisphere of the brain. It is widely accepted that the FFA is involved in the encoding and retrieval of memory for faces and other familiar categorical processing.
Damage to the FFA has been shown to lead to severe deficits in facial recognition and processing. These deficits can lead to difficulty in maintaining normal social relationships over an extended period.
The amygdala is one of the major structures in the limbic system. It is also known to play a role in the processing of memory for emotional events.
One study, performed by Adolphs, et al. (1998), found striking differences in perceived trustworthiness and approachability ratings between subjects with complete bilateral amygdala damage and a control group. The results showed that all of the amygdally impaired subjects rated unfamiliar faces as much more trustworthy and approachable than familiar faces. Furthermore, the impaired subjects rated faces as trustworthy which the control group considered dubious. These findings illustrate a large difference in the amygdally impaired subjects' perception of faces. The same study went on to determine whether or not the difference generalizes to an auditory description of a person. The impaired subjects made entirely normal perceptions in this task. Overall, the research suggests that the amygdala is important for the making and retrieval of social judgements.
The hippocampus is a structure located in the medial temporal lobe. It is thought to be involved in the encoding, consolidation and retrieval of memories. This structure's function is probably best known from specific case studies, the most famous being Henry Molaison, formerly known as patient H.M., whose medial temporal lobes were bilaterally removed, which means that both sides were removed, in an attempt to cure his epileptic seizures. As a result, he experienced severe anterograde amnesia.
Memory and social interactions
Memory supports and enables social interactions in a variety of ways. In order to engage in successful social interaction, people must be able to remember how they should interact with one another, whom they have interacted with previously, and what occurred during those interactions. There are a lot of brain processes and functions that go into the application and use of memory in social interactions, as well as psychological reasoning for its importance.
The ability to visually identify previous social partners is essential for successful interactions because it aids in recognizing which partners can and cannot be trusted. In humans, this is accomplished by facial recognition. Research suggests that humans are born with an innate ability to process other human faces. In one study, Pascalis, et al. (1995) found that four-day-old neonates (infants) prefer to look at their mothers' faces rather than at a stranger's face. This finding suggests that neonates are able to remember, recognize, and differentiate between faces. Further research suggests that humans prefer to focus on faces rather than non-face alternatives. Such specialized processing for faces aids in the encoding of memory for people. This preference is one explanation for why humans are more proficient at memorizing faces than non-faces.
There are several areas of the brain associated with the highly specialized form of memory for faces.
The fusiform face area (FFA) is associated with facial recognition. It is generally located on the fusiform gyrus in the temporal lobe, but its precise location varies between individuals. The FFA has been found to show a degree of lateralization, or what side of the brain the activity is likely to be found. Typically, it is larger in the right hemisphere of the brain. It is widely accepted that the FFA is involved in the encoding and retrieval of memory for faces and other familiar categorical processing.
Damage to the FFA has been shown to lead to severe deficits in facial recognition and processing. These deficits can lead to difficulty in maintaining normal social relationships over an extended period.
The amygdala is one of the major structures in the limbic system. It is also known to play a role in the processing of memory for emotional events.
One study, performed by Adolphs, et al. (1998), found striking differences in perceived trustworthiness and approachability ratings between subjects with complete bilateral amygdala damage and a control group. The results showed that all of the amygdally impaired subjects rated unfamiliar faces as much more trustworthy and approachable than familiar faces. Furthermore, the impaired subjects rated faces as trustworthy which the control group considered dubious. These findings illustrate a large difference in the amygdally impaired subjects' perception of faces. The same study went on to determine whether or not the difference generalizes to an auditory description of a person. The impaired subjects made entirely normal perceptions in this task. Overall, the research suggests that the amygdala is important for the making and retrieval of social judgements.
The hippocampus is a structure located in the medial temporal lobe. It is thought to be involved in the encoding, consolidation and retrieval of memories. This structure's function is probably best known from specific case studies, the most famous being Henry Molaison, formerly known as patient H.M., whose medial temporal lobes were bilaterally removed, which means that both sides were removed, in an attempt to cure his epileptic seizures. As a result, he experienced severe anterograde amnesia.