Abstract
Research in neuroscience is being very fruitful in providing evidence about the influence of social experience in the architecture and functioning of the brain. In so doing, neuroscience is posing new and fascinating research questions to examine in depth the social processes that produce those neural changes. To undertake the task of tackling such research questions, evidence from the social sciences are necessary to better understand how different types of social experiences produce different types of synaptic changes and even modify subcortical brain structures differently. It will be the dialogue between neuroscience, other natural sciences and the social sciences which will advance the scientific understanding of plastic changes in the brain which result from complex social experiences that have been traditionally studied by the social sciences. Socioneuroscience constitutes the arena for such interdisciplinary dialogue and research that can both advance the scientific understanding of the human brain and provide evidence-based solutions to most urgent social problems. Socioneuroscience studies the relations between the human brain and social interactions taking into account knowledge from all social sciences and the natural sciences. Processes of conscious versus unconscious social volition and control is one central area of inquiry in socioneuroscience. In this article, we discuss the dominant coercive discourse in society -which presents males with aggressive attitudes and behaviors as more attractive- as an example of social control of human volition which imprisons many individuals' sexual freedom. However, due to brain plasticity, certain experiences that question such dominant discourse and empty violence from attractiveness open up the possibility for the individual and the society to break free from the neural wiring imposed by the dominant coercive discourse and, in the words of Santiago Ramón y Cajal, be ourselves “the architects of our brain”, contributing to overcome violence against women.
Highlights
Social experience shapes brain architecture and gene expressionResearch in neuroscience, both in animal models and in humans, has shed light on the influential role of social context and social experience in shaping brain architecture and function [1,2,3]
To undertake the task of tackling such research questions, evidence from the social sciences are necessary to better understand how different types of social experiences produce different types of synaptic changes and even modify subcortical brain structures differently. It will be the dialogue between neuroscience, other natural sciences and the social sciences which will advance the scientific understanding of plastic changes in the brain which result from complex social experiences that have been traditionally studied by the social sciences
Socioneuroscience studies the relations between the human brain and social interactions taking into account knowledge from all social sciences and the natural sciences
Summary
Both in animal models and in humans, has shed light on the influential role of social context and social experience in shaping brain architecture and function [1,2,3]. Scientific research in epigenetics has well advanced these findings, proving that the epigenome can be influenced by environmental factors, such as diet and toxic stress, and can end up producing phenotypes and be inherited [10,11] These modifications can occur at any time in development, yet the period of embryonic development is sensitive. Exposure to stressful experiences has been shown to alter the size and neuronal architecture of the amygdala, the hippocampus, and the prefrontal cortex (PFC) [12], as well as toxic social experiences alter learning, memory, and executive functioning [1] When such experiences are not exceptional but persist for a long period of time, the consequences are more negative.
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