The Neural Basis of Mentalizing

Humans have a unique ability to understand the beliefs, emotions, and intentions of others—a capacity often referred to as mentalizing. Much research in psychology and neuroscience has focused on delineating the mechanisms of mentalizing, and examining the role of mentalizing processes in other domains of cognitive and affective functioning. The purpose of the book is to provide a comprehensive overview of the current research on the mechanisms of mentalizing at the neural, algorithmic, and computational levels of analysis.

The book includes contributions from prominent researchers in the field of social-cognitive and affective neuroscience, as well as from related disciplines (e.g., cognitive, social, developmental and clinical psychology, psychiatry, philosophy, primatology). The contributors review their latest research in order to compile an authoritative source of knowledge on the psychological and brain bases of the unique human capacity to think about the mental states of others. The intended audience is researchers and students in the fields of social-cognitive and affective neuroscience and related disciplines such as neuroeconomics, cognitive neuroscience, developmental neuroscience, social cognition, social psychology, developmental psychology, cognitive psychology, and affective science. Secondary audiences include researchers in decision science (economics, judgment and decision-making), philosophy of mind, and psychiatry.

• Neural mechanisms of mentalizing
• Functional neuroanatomy of mentalizing
• Mentalizing in psychological functioning
• Mind-reading capacity
• Evolutionary advantages of mentalizing
• Developmental trajectories of mentalizing
• Mind-reading biases by neurotypical adults
• Language-based capacities required for mentalizing
• Simulation theory of mind reading
• Inference-based theories of mentalizing
• The "mentalizing network"
• Language and semantic memory
• Episodic memory and imagination
• Top-down predictive coding
• Mentalizing in affect and psychopathology
• Mentalizing in cooperative and competitive interactions
• Pro-social behavior
• Mentalizing in value-based decision making

• Psychology Department, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel

  Michael Gilead

• Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, USA

  Kevin N. Ochsner

Michael Gilead is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. His research utilizes neuroimaging, experimental, and big-data methodologies to investigate humans’ symbolic cognition and the process of symbolic interaction. He has authored papers on topics such as mentalizing, mental simulation, language and cognition, emotion, and decision making. He is the recipient of the APS Rising Star award.

Kevin N. Ochsner is Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Psychology at Columbia University. His research interests include the psychological and neural processes involved in emotion, self-control, and person perception. His teaching includes seminars on social cognitive neuroscience as well as a lecture course on experimental psychological methods for studying emotion and social cognition. Ochsner is a recipient of the Young Investigator Award from The Cognitive Neuroscience Society, Columbia University’s Lenfest Distinguished Faculty Award, and the APA Division 3 New Investigator Award.

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