Prof Robin Dunbar: Conwy Lloyd Morgan Lecture

Speaker: Robin Dunbar, University of Oxford 

Location: Priory Road Lecture Theatre, D Block Priory Road Complex, BS8 1TU 

Host: Bruce Hood 

Title: The (Neuro-)Anatomy of Friendship 

Abstract: Friendships are a primate speciality, and have evolved to buffer us against the stresses of living in large social groups. They have a bigger effect on our psychological health and wellbeing, as well as our physical health and wellbeing, than anything else. Friendships are, however, extremely expensive to create and to maintain, both in terms of their time cost and in terms of their underpinning neurobiology. The basis of this lies in the dual process mechanism that allows primates to manage their relationships. One arm of this forms the Social Brain Hypothesis that sets a cognitive limit on the number of relationships we can have; the other is formed by the endorphin system and the way this is triggered by physical touch acting through the afferent C-tactile neural system. In this lecture, I’ll explore the behavioural, cognitive and neurobiological bases of friendships in comparative perspective, and show how we use these as a basis for forming communities. 

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