Published in:
01-02-2014 | Editorial
Only Connect
Authors:
Richard L. Kravitz, MD, MSPH, Ishani Ganguli, MD
Published in:
Journal of General Internal Medicine
|
Issue 2/2014
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Excerpt
It has been known for a long time that social support is important to human health, but only recently are we beginning to understand some of the mechanisms. In his new book, “Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect,” Matthew Lieberman tells how modern imaging is revealing the neural underpinnings of empathy, altruism, and social engagement. In one experiment (Science 10 October 2003), Lieberman describes how the brains of subjects excluded from a game of CyberBall lit up in the same patterns as subjects experiencing physical pain. In separate experiments, acetaminophen reduced both the subjective experience of exclusion and its neuroanatomical correlates. …
