Meeting of minds: the medial frontal cortex and social cognition

The recent convergence of neuroscience and social psychology has shed fresh light on the neural mechanisms underlying social interaction. Amodio and Frith review anatomical and functional characteristics of the medial frontal cortex, highlighting its central role in social cognitive processing. Social interaction is a cornerstone of human life, yet the neural mechanisms underlying social cognition are poorly understood. Recently, research that integrates approaches from neuroscience and social psychology has begun to shed light on these processes, and converging evidence from neuroimaging studies suggests a unique role for the medial frontal cortex. We review the emerging literature that relates social…