[#52] A complex systems approach to the social brain & Shape-shifting scholarship

Our social relationships and the support we receive from them have considerable impact on our health, wellbeing, cognition, and development. Consequentially, our brains are remarkably sensitive to our social environments and experiences. Complex systems science is well-suited for effectively studying the coupling between the brain and social world, both of which are dynamic, high dimensional, and difficult to measure. In this talk, I provide an overview of several projects that approach brain science from a humanistic perspective, drawing from biological theory and complex systems science methods, with consequences for the social sciences. First, I describe two projects that together show that brain network associations with social support are distributed across the whole brain but that more subjective measures of social support exhibit stronger and more reliable effects. Then, I present work demonstrating that social environment quality distinguishes whole-brain network connectivity patterns and changes over time. Importantly, this change in the social environment is associated with divergent mental health and cognitive outcomes. Finally, I show results from a study that simulates social interaction. From the simulations, it becomes clear that to understand the neural dynamics underpinning social behavior, one must analyze the interactors as a coupled system. Altogether, this body of work emphasizes two key ideas. First, brain network organization varies across social environments, such that what is a healthy brain network organization depends on the social environment. Second, understanding human behavior and wellbeing requires us to treat humans as interdependent, a point which has consequences for health interventions, policymaking, and societal norms.

I would like to talk about shape-shifting in academia, or how to be multidisciplinary and the challenges of being understood and identifiable across different academic disciplines. Developing an identity as a researcher is hard, but interfacing with scholars who have dramatically different areas of expertise, academic values, and norms adds an extra layer of difficulty to this. Worse, much of the advice senior scholars give on this topic encourages us to just pick a field and commit to it (at least on paper). I think we can do better.