The ability to recognize, manipulate, and behave with
respect to socially relevant information requires neural
systems that process perception of social signals and that
connect such perception to motivation, emotion, and
adaptive behavior (Figure 1). Social cognition guides both
automatic and volitional behavior by participating in a
variety of processes that modulate behavioral response:
memory, decision-making, attention, motivation and
emotion are all prominently recruited when socially
relevant stimuli elicit behavior.
Although social cognition has been investigated for some
time within developmental, comparative and social
psychology, recent findings from neurobiology shed light
on its neural underpinnings, and several studies are
beginning to integrate neurobiological and psychological
approaches [1,2•,3•]. This review will focus on work in
mammals, especially primates, on the visual system and on
those aspects of social cognition closely related to emotion;
as such, the review will omit aspects of social communication
such as language.