ELSC Seminar Series

Abstract:

Social behavior pervades many aspects of our lives, and deficit in social behavior is a prominent feature of many neurocognitive conditions such as major depression and autism spectrum disorder. Yet, despite its importance, the single-neuronal basis and causal underpinnings of interactive social behavior remain not well understood. The talk will discuss use of genetic, neurophysiologic and neuromodulatory techniques for studying social cognitive processes and their dysfunction. Using rodent, primate and human experiments, the talk will cover some of the neuronal processes involved in social interaction, group behavior, theory of mind and communication. It will also cover newly emerging neurosurgical approaches for treating social behavioral disorders and future closed-loop neural prosthetic approaches.