We rarely go it alone
I suppose none of us would really question the power of social networks for us as individuals or the groups of which we are members. We are learning a good deal about both the behavioral and neurobiological mechanisms of how human and non-human groups ‘work’. Nevertheless we remain rather ignorant about the nature of what it means to function as part of a social network.
None of the technical feats of the 20th and 21st century would have been possible without successful social networks. The power of social groups is also expressed in all kinds of destructive ways. Just look at our history during the past many centuries and it is obvious when we ban together to accomplish frighteningly vicious behavior that would not occur as easily if we functioned alone. It is impressive how efficiency we are in groups when it comes to killing each other, or how enthusiastic we can be when we band together around shared hatred and prejudice. What would we be capable of without the support and encouragement of our affinity groups? While social scientists continue to speculate about the nature of group functioning cognitive scientist have begun to look at the brains of individuals while behaving with the context of a social network.
The power of social networks is reflected in all kinds of behaviors including human memory. That is not news to you. What is new is that one can track some of the neurobiology of how social influences affect our what we remember. Micah Edelson of the Weitzman Institute of Science in Israel and his colleagues at the University College London have successfully looked at the brain substrates of long term memory changes induced by conformity in a social network. The researchers in this study examined socially induced memory errors in individuals whose initial memories of others were both strong and accurate. Subjects tended to conform to erroneous recollections of the group, producing long-lasting memory errors. Social influence modified the neuronal representation of memory as assessed by functional brain imaging methods. Activity in structures well known to be important for memory formation (the amygdala and hippocampus) predicted long-lasting but not temporary memory alterations. For more details see Micah Edelson, et al. Science 333, 108 (1 July 2011).