Maghz-i rafīq-bāz: ʿAṣab-shināsī-yi dūstī, hamdalī va zindagī-yi ijtimāʿī Persiska (Farsi) 2025

Social Brain: The Neuroscience of Friendship is a scientific and deeply human exploration of the brain’s greatest need—connection and togetherness. In this book, Dr. Ben Rein, a neuroscientist at Stanford University, demonstrates that the human brain is not designed for isolation but for friendship, empathy, and love. According to him, just as our bodies need air and food to survive, our minds and emotions need connection to thrive.

Drawing on research in neuroscience and social psychology, Rein explains how every warm conversation, every smile, or human touch triggers the release of chemicals such as dopamine and oxytocin in the brain, strengthening feelings of joy, calm, and safety. In contrast, loneliness and isolation increase stress, depression, and even physical illness.

Through relatable examples from everyday life, Rein conveys a simple yet powerful message: friendship heals—sometimes even more effectively than medicine. He suggests that talking with a friend, sharing a loving hug, or showing kindness to a stranger can soothe the mind and mend the heart.

In the book’s final chapters, the author speaks in a more personal tone about love as the force that ensures our species’ survival—a love expressed through the bond between parent and child, close friendships, or romantic relationships. He reminds us that life loses part of its meaning without these connections.

For Rein, to be human is to be with others. Social Brain is therefore both a call for compassion and a reconciliation with a society sinking into loneliness—a reminder that our brains are, above all else, powered by friendship.