The Neuroscience of Social Interaction: Decoding, Imitating, and Influencing the Actions of Others

Human beings have the unique ability to mentalize, that is to perceive and communicate mental states such as beliefs and desires. One of the key problems in science is to uncover the biological mechanisms underlying mentalizing and to show how these mechanisms evolved. The Neuroscience of Social Interactions is an important first step in uncovering the biological mechanisms underlying social interactions--undoubtedly one of the major programs for neuroscience in the 21st century.