The interaction between the self and the environment – a two way traffic due to the brain

Abstract

Affective processes fuel and orient social behaviour throughout life; if they did not exist, there would be no striving, no goal-pursuit, no goal-oriented action. Two interconnected brain regions are deeply involved in the socially adaptive functions of affect and emotion. Both the maturation and functioning of the brain mechanisms involved undergo the shaping influence of the manifold experience that is derived from social interactions.