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Cortica

Cortica Journal club

Vol. 2 No. 2 (2023): OPEN SCIENCE : Accès aux savoirs scientifiques auprès des professionnels de santé

How do human brains encode their own learning and memory processes, and how does the topology of a person's wider social network show similar neural patterns to those of their friends and communities?

DOI
https://doi.org/10.26034/cortica.2023.4208
Submitted
September 5, 2023
Published
2023-09-19

Abstract

This Cortica Journal Club explores the underlying foundations of learning and memory, illuminating how these processes reflect and interact with the topology of broader social networks. Indeed, human brains instinctively assess the position of individuals within their social network. Similarities in brain responses are correlated with the strength of friendship bonds, while understanding the overall network structure reflects the assimilation of both social and cognitive topologies. In the future, the combination of experimental and computational methods could explore the evolution of neural networks alongside the ability to understand large groups, to shed light on their diverse roles and collective effects. Identifying shared neural networks, acting as guides for understanding both social and non-social structures, could greatly enrich our understanding of collective cognition and cultural evolution.

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