The Infant Mind, Origins of the Social Brain is an edited volume dealing with the behavioral and brain science data regarding the origins of the social brain in infancy. This dense volume is comprised of fourteen chapters, each by different authors. What strikes one immediately is its international nature. Each chapter was written as a result of a conference funded by a grant from the Office of the Vice President of Research and Innovation at York University in Toronto Canada. The authors are primarily researchers invited from centers in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom (Scotland, England), Italy, Israel, and New Zealand. This book is organized into five sections starting with a discussion of the evolutionary press for social cognition and intersubjectivity for human and non-human primates living in socially complex groups referred to as the “social brain hypothesis” (p 3) and moving through a discussion of motor cognition, mirror neurons, the recursive and mutual influence of genes and environment; early sensory experience and memory along with language. The final two sections present compelling data regarding the relationships among attunement, stress, memory consolidation, and physiological regulation that is part and parcel of the infant-parent relationship.

Many of the research findings reported have both clinical and research relevance. Among the most clinically striking research is that presented by Pluess, Stevens, and Belsky in Chapter 4. The question is asked regarding why, from an evolutionary perspective, early childhood experiences should influence later development. This lays the foundation for a fascinating discussion of the discovery of the relationship between specific gene alleles and environmental sensitivity at both ends of the caregiving spectrum (i.e. poor childrearing practices and enriched ones). The term “resilience” has historically suggested a relative sturdiness with regard to poor environments and has been regarded as a positive attribute. However, recent research suggests that resilient children also appear to derive less benefit from enriched environments than might be anticipated. In fact, children with specific genetic attributes appear to benefit disproportionately from very good childrearing and to be disproportionately affected by poor childrearing environments. As the authors note: “For better and for worse”. (p. 83)

De Haan and Carver, in Chapter 6, summarize current literature with regard to face processing. Although they are quite careful to use the conditional tense (“may” and “might”) these authors suggest a connection between visual experience in infancy and early childhood with face processing in adulthood. In Chapter 7 Bauer presents a fascinating discussion of the relationship between maternal narrative style and children's event memory for nonverbal as well as verbal experience. Research indicates that by the end of the second year of life memory for past events is “relatively well established.” (p. 159). Differences in memory consolidation between children adopted out of institutions and home-reared children are related to compromised hippocampal function thought to be secondary to hormone levels present in elevated stress.

Throughout, the challenge is raised and variously addressed to understand and explain imitation and complex social engagement observed in infancy before conscious reflection is possible. Various authors address this using creative and elegant brain research. In Chapter 10 Legerstee presents evidence of jealousy in 3 to 6 month old infants based in imaging studies and behavioral research. She says: “infants have an early specialization of the cortical network involved in the recognition of social cues and signals.” (p. 230) In the subsequent chapter, Haley references the work of Porges and others in his discussion of memory and stress and the role of the parent-infant relationship in facilitation of early learning and regulation of biological experience. The impacts of failures of maternal attunement are discussed in the next chapter. Although the information might not be new, the research is well presented and compelling.

In the final chapter of this volume, Mundy presents his model: “a parallel and distributed information-processing model (PDPM)” (p. 334) as a parsimonious explanation of current behavioral and brain research and links it to the social-cognitive deficits of Autism. Mundy references a Grossman and Johnson study that used EEG data to demonstrate that initiation of joint attention and responding to joint attention each access different identifiable neural networks. Mundy proposes that, separate from responding to joint attention, the lack of initiation of joint attention or “a lack of spontaneous seeking to share experience, enjoyment, interests, or achievements with other people is central to the description of the social pathology of autism.” (p. 325) From a clinical perspective he argues that improving the initiation of joint attention also improves social learning and provides the foundation for social-cognitive development.

Despite the fascinating subject matter and the elegance of the research, this volume was at times difficult to follow, perhaps suffering from the way it was developed. Some authors went to great lengths to define the context of their research (e.g. Gallagher Chapter 3) whereas others assumed understanding of that knowledge (e.g. Dunbar Chapter 1). For example the term “theory theory” referenced on p. 11 by Dunbar was not fully defined until Gallagher presented the context and literature around the term as it relates to Theory of Mind on p 49.

Infant social-cognitive development is multifaceted and requires the active participation of both infant and environment in ways that take advantage of the innate capacities of the infant and the responsiveness of the environment. This is an essential volume for anyone in the field of infant research and has immediate relevance for disorders on the Autism spectrum or other disorders for which social engagement is an important feature. It would have been somewhat less dense and easier to navigate had there been more careful editing (there were multiple typographical errors) and greater attention to redundancies and omissions chapter to chapter. However, the research is creative and elegant and the information is for the most part recent and compelling for both researchers and clinicians.