一个人认识的人越多，他脑中的某些部分会长得越大。
据研究人员披露，具体地说，人们发现那些已知处理如面孔等社会信息的脑区域在那些一直居住在较大群组的动物中会较大。
Jerome Sallet及其同事对23个或是独居，或是与一位朋友同住或是生活在一个数目为3至7个猴子的社会性群体中的恒河猴的脑子进行了研究。
研究人员发现，那些生活在较大组群中的猴子在它们的中上脑沟及嘴缘侧前额皮质中有着更多的灰质，而且其额叶和颞叶皮层活动的耦联也有增加。
由于所有这些脑区域都与处理社会信息有关，Sallet及其同事提出，个体的社交网络大小会促成脑子的结构与功能的变化。
这些研究人员还将这些动物的社会地位与其脑中的特别区域的大小进行关联，这意味着灰质的差异可能会帮助预测某个动物在一个特定的社会环境中是否会成功。
这些发现凸显了个体本身的社会环境对脑子所施加的压力。(生物谷 Bioon.com)
doi:10.1126/science.1210027
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Social Network Size Affects Neural Circuits in Macaques
J. Sallet, R. B. Mars, M. P. Noonan1, J. L. Andersson, J. X. O’Reilly, S. Jbabdi, P. L. Croxson, M. Jenkinson, K. L. Miller, M. F. S. Rushworth
It has been suggested that variation in brain structure correlates with the sizes of individuals’ social networks. Whether variation in social network size causes variation in brain structure, however, is unknown. To address this question, we neuroimaged 23 monkeys that had been living in social groups set to different sizes. Subject comparison revealed that living in larger groups caused increases in gray matter in mid-superior temporal sulcus and rostral prefrontal cortex and increased coupling of activity in frontal and temporal cortex. Social network size, therefore, contributes to changes both in brain structure and function. The changes have potential implications for an animal’s success in a social context; gray matter differences in similar areas were also correlated with each animal’s dominance within its social network.
