How do our brains support our real-life friendships?

Abstract

Have you ever wondered how your friends impact how you see the world or how you’re able to keep track of the many different people in your life? To study these questions, researchers have begun to look at people’s social networks and their brains at the same time. We give an introduction to this area of study and discuss how researchers use ideas from both mathematics and neuroscience to examine these questions. We also highlight some recent findings that reveal both how our brains support our ability to socialize with others and how our relationships with other people are related to how we use our brains.