Recently, cognitive neuroscience research has suggested the special status in the human brain of social cognitive processes such a representing the mental states of other people. Following from these earlier studies, the current research examines the functional neuroanatomy of social cognition along three distinct lines of inquiry. First, can neuroimaging data illuminate the mechanisms that give rise to well-known differences in memory and reasoning performance typical of social cognition (Expts 1 & 2)? Second, what constituent processes make up social cognition; that is, under what conditions are social cognitive processes engaged (Expt 3) are these processes sensitive to the type of social information being represented (Expt 4)? Finally, on the basis of extant neuroimaging work, novel predictions are tested regarding the status of social cognition as part of the default state of the human brain (Expts 5 & 6). Together, these experiments will improve current understanding of autism, a prevalent developmental disorder characterized by pervasive deficits in social cognitive processing, e.g., representing the mental states of other people. ? ?
