Abstract
A coordinate transformation framework for understanding how neurons compute sensorimotor behaviors has generated significant advances toward our understanding of basic brain function. This influential scaffold focuses on neuronal encoding of spatial information represented in different coordinate systems (e.g., eye-centered, hand-centered) and how multiple brain regions partake in transforming these signals in order to ultimately generate a motor output. A powerful analogy can be drawn from the coordinate transformation framework to better elucidate how the nervous system computes cognitive variables for social behavior. Of particular relevance is how the brain represents information with respect to oneself and other individuals, such as in reward outcome assignment during social exchanges, in order to influence social decisions. In this article, I outline how the coordinate transformation framework can help guide our understanding of neural computations resulting in social interactions. Implications for numerous psychiatric disorders with impaired representations of self and others are also discussed.
Highlights
The brains of many animals have evolved to deal with an increasing demand for complex social interactions
A failure to accurately represent self and others can result in atypical social behaviors like those that are striking in autism (Baron-Cohen, 1988) and Williams syndrome (Jones et al, 2000), as well as in schizophrenia (Jeannerod, 2008), borderline personality disorders (Bender and Skodol, 2007) and psychopathy (Hare, 1999)
Investigating the neural mechanisms underlying social interactions will provide critical clues toward characterizing the neural basis of a surprisingly large number of neuropsychiatric disorders that are accompanied by social deficits
Summary
A coordinate transformation framework for understanding how neurons compute sensorimotor behaviors has generated significant advances toward our understanding of basic brain function. This influential scaffold focuses on neuronal encoding of spatial information represented in different coordinate systems (e.g., eye-centered, hand-centered) and how multiple brain regions partake in transforming these signals in order to generate a motor output. A powerful analogy can be drawn from the coordinate transformation framework to better elucidate how the nervous system computes cognitive variables for social behavior. I outline how the coordinate transformation framework can help guide our understanding of neural computations resulting in social interactions.
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