Insula

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"We are an essentially social species; no component of our civilization would be possible without large-scale collective behavior. Yet much of our social behavior arises from neurobiological and psychological mechanisms shared with other mammalian species, raising questions ...
... [culture]* may arise from knowledge of our own minds and those of others...

...For instance, observing the hand of a loved one receive a painful electric shock will activate the insula in the brain of the perceiver (Singer et al. 2004). This and other studies have tied the insula not only to the experience of one's own emotions, but also to the empathic feeling of others' emotions: one way in which we know what is going on inside other people is to simulate aspects of what is happening in their brain (Keysers & Gazzola 2007). Associating our observations of other people with representations of our own internal states, motivations, and intentions is hypothesized to be a general mechanism whereby we are able to generate knowledge of other minds (Keysers & Perrett 2004).

...And the knowingly shared conscious experience opens up forms of social learning on which culture can build (Frith & Frith 2007)."

Adolphs, R. 2009. The social brain: neural basis of social knowledge. Annual Review of Psychology
* sentence slightly changed by j.