The Social Synapse: Neuroscience and the Roots of Human Connections

Humans work together on enormous scales to build complex tools as large as cities and create social networks that span the globe. What is the key to our success? This program examines the development of the human brain — and the brains of other animals — asking how neurons orchestrate communal behavior and guide group interactions, demonstrating how our social nature is key to our humanity.

MODERATOR: John Donvan
PARTICIPANTS: Louise Barrett, Agustín Fuentes, Kevin Laland, Kevin Ochsner, Dietrich Stout

Find out more about the program and participants: https://www.worldsciencefestival.com/programs/the-social-brain/

This program is part of the Big Ideas Series, made possible with support from the John Templeton Foundation.

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Original Program Date: JUNE 2, 2017

The Roots of Human Connections 00:05

John Donvan introduction 03:14

Define culture 05:59

Why are humans a successful social animal? 10:40

The simulated cumulative culture box 18:31

The evidence of a social culture from 80,000 years ago. 24:30

The intersection of social psychology and Neuroscience 30:14

How to make an Acheulean hand axe 38:06

Does social behavior vary with brain size? 47:55

Is there a social brain apart from intelligence? 56:28

Studying human behavior across fields. 1:02:14