The Social Impulse (eBook)

This book is an exploration of the integration-differentiation dynamics that result in a drive, or impulse, toward human sociality, arguing that our need to connect with other people is as fundamental as our need for food and shelter.  In The Social Impulse: The Evolution and Neuroscience of What Brings Us Together, Jaime Pineda presents the evidence that social cohesion is a complementary force to natural selection, the Darwinian drive for differentiation and diversity. The book addresses the distinctive aspects of social behavior that arise from integration principles and seeks to answer the following questions: (1) Why does social cohesion arise? (2) What is the history of social dynamics? (3) How does social cohesion work? (4) When do the developmental aspects of social dynamics arise? A final section of the book addresses the value of sociality and social cohesion. By exploring the differences, similarities, and, most important, the interactivity between natural selection and social cohesion, this unique book provides a wealth of interesting, challenging, and unexpected insights.


During 36 years at the University of California, San Diego, Jaime A. Pineda received his Ph.D. in Neuroscience, completed postdoctoral work in Psychiatry, and was founding faculty member of the Cognitive Science Department. Until his retirement in 2018, Professor Pineda directed the Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory where he explored the relationship between mind and brain. His research focused on the neuroetiology of autism, the role of mirror neurons in social cognition, neuronal plasticity, and brain-computer interfaces. He served on many NIH committees and was a reviewer for several scholarly journals. He is the author of over 100 articles, books, and reviews on the relationship between brain and mind, having published many widely cited papers in animal and human cognitive and systems neuroscience. Professor Pineda used brain imaging techniques, as well as behavioral, psychological and pharmacological methods, to understand normal and abnormal cognitive function. As a principal investigator on a long-term project studying Autism Spectrum Disorder, he was interested in developing strategies to reduce cognitive, behavioral, and neurofunctional deficits through self-directed neural plasticity. Professor Pineda was also scientific co-founder of Otosound, a biomedical therapeutics company involved in the treatment of tinnitus, and an active advisor for a variety of neurotechnology companies. Professor Pineda came to the United States from Honduras, Central America in 1963 at 9 years of age to get a better education. He is also a writer and poet, focusing on mind-brain relationships with an emphasis on spirituality, mysticism, environmentalism, and social activism.