Brain Behaviour Evolution

During the lengthy and complex process of human evolution our ancestors had to adapt to testing situations in which survival depended on making rapid choices that subjected muscles and body to extreme tension. In order to seize a prey travelling at 36 km per hour Homo sapiens had just thousandths of a second in which to prepare the appropriate gesture.

Provides an inter-disciplinary exploration of the development of social cognition in humans and looks at the psychiatric implications when these processes go awry. The resulting brain disorders or psychopathologies can manifest in various forms such as autism, schizophrenia, delusional disorders, affective disorders (bipolar disease), and borderline personality disorders of old age (dementia). There is increasing interest in what determines our social awareness and behaviour and essentially this book applies "theory of mind" to psychiatry and psychopathology. With contributions from leading authorities in the field, this will be a standard reference for years to come.