Humans have a unique ability to understand the beliefs, emotions, and intentions of others—a capacity often referred to as mentalizing. Much research in psychology and neuroscience has focused on delineating the mechanisms of mentalizing, and examining the role of mentalizing processes in other domains of cognitive and affective functioning. The purpose of the book is to provide a comprehensive overview of the current research on the mechanisms of mentalizing at the neural, algorithmic, and computational levels of analysis. The book includes contributions from prominent researchers in the field of social-cognitive and affective neuroscience, as well as from related disciplines (e.g., cognitive, social, developmental and clinical psychology, psychiatry, philosophy, primatology). The contributors review their latest research in order to compile an authoritative source of knowledge on the psychological and brain bases of the unique human capacity to think about the mental states of others. The intended audience is researchers and students in the fields of social-cognitive and affective neuroscience and related disciplines such as neuroeconomics, cognitive neuroscience, developmental neuroscience, social cognition, social psychology, developmental psychology, cognitive psychology, and affective science. Secondary audiences include researchers in decision science (economics, judgment and decision-making), philosophy of mind, and psychiatry.

While economics and game theory are based on the assumption that people who engage in economic exchange are able to infer other people's motives and beliefs to predict their actions, economists have not yet become interested in the neural mechanisms that enable people to make inferences about other's mental and motivational states. However, the fields of social neuroscience and neuroeconomics have started to investigate our ability to represent others’ intentions and beliefs, referred to as “mentalizing” or “Theory of Mind” (ToM), and to share others' feelings and motivational states, referred to as “empathy”. Following an introduction to the field of social neuroscience, a clarification of concepts and a summary of major findings concerning the neural basis of mentalizing and empathizing are provided. Next, other social emotions closely related to empathy, such as compassion, and social emotions opposing empathy, such as schadenfreude, are introduced. Finally, future research questions are outlined and are discussed in light of their implications for neuroeconomics and human prosociality in general.

A practical guide to the core concept of mentalizing and how this is applied in mentalization-based treatment (MBT).

Is the everyday understanding of belief susceptible to scientific investigation? Belief is one of the most commonly used, yet unexplained terms in neuroscience. Beliefs can be seen as forms of mental representations and one of the building blocks of our conscious thoughts. This book provides an interdisciplinary overview of what we currently know about the neural basis of human belief systems, and how different belief systems are implemented in the human brain. The chapters in this volume explain how the neural correlates of beliefs mediate a range of explicit and implicit behaviours ranging from moral decision making, to the practice of religion. Drawing inferences from philosophy, psychology, psychiatry, religion, and cognitive neuroscience, the book has important implications for understanding how different belief systems are implemented in the human brain, and outlines the directions which research on the cognitive neuroscience of beliefs should take in the future. The Neural Basis of Human Belief Systems will be of great interest to researchers in the fields of psychology, philosophy, psychiatry, and cognitive neuroscience.

"The Oxford Handbook of Cultural Neuroscience and Global Mental Health provides a substantive and in-depth overview of the study of cultural neuroscience and global mental health. Theory, methods and evidence-based practices are reviewed and integrated across themes that identify ethical, scientific, and health care issues for distinct populations across nations. The international research collaboration in the field of cultural neuroscience and global mental health provides research and training opportunities for global mental health researchers. Future research and training in the field seeks the achievement of the amelioration of disease and fulfillment of the goal to alleviate the unmet societal needs due to the global burden of disease"--

The human imagination manifests in countless different forms. We imagine the possible and the impossible. How do we do this so effortlessly? Why did the capacity for imagination evolve and manifest with undeniably manifold complexity uniquely in human beings? This handbook reflects on such questions by collecting perspectives on imagination from leading experts. It showcases a rich and detailed analysis on how the imagination is understood across several disciplines of study, including anthropology, archaeology, medicine, neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, and the arts. An integrated theoretical-empirical-applied picture of the field is presented, which stands to inform researchers, students, and practitioners about the issues of relevance across the board when considering the imagination. With each chapter, the nature of human imagination is examined - what it entails, how it evolved, and why it singularly defines us as a species.

This volume showcases the latest theoretical and empirical work from some of the top scholars in attachment. Extending classic themes and describing important new applications, the book examines several ways in which attachment processes help explain how people think, feel, and behave in different situations and at different stages in the life cycle. Topics include the effects of early experiences on adult relationships; new developments in neuroscience and genetics; attachment orientations and parenting; connections between attachment and psychopathology, as well as health outcomes; and the relationship of attachment theory and processes to clinical interventions.