This title appears in the Scientific Report :
2012
Please use the identifier:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00429-012-0380-y in citations.
Parsing the neural correlates of moral cognition: ALE meta-analysis on morality, theory of mind, and empathy
Parsing the neural correlates of moral cognition: ALE meta-analysis on morality, theory of mind, and empathy
Morally judicious behavior forms the fabric of human sociality. Here, we sought to investigate neural activity associated with different facets of moral thought. Previous research suggests that the cognitive and emotional sources of moral decisions might be closely related to theory of mind, an abst...
Saved in:
Personal Name(s): | Bzdok, D. |
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Schilbach, L. / Vogeley, K. / Schneider, K. / Laird, A.R. / Langner, R. / Eickhoff, S.B. | |
Contributing Institute: |
Strukturelle und funktionelle Organisation des Gehirns; INM-1 Kognitive Neurowissenschaften; INM-3 Molekulare Organisation des Gehirns; INM-2 |
Published in: | Brain structure & function, 217 (2012) S. 783 - 796 |
Imprint: |
Berlin
Springer
2012
|
Physical Description: |
783 - 796 |
DOI: |
10.1007/s00429-012-0380-y |
PubMed ID: |
22270812 |
Document Type: |
Journal Article |
Research Program: |
(Dys-)function and Plasticity Funktion und Dysfunktion des Nervensystems |
Series Title: |
Brain Structure & Function
217 |
Subject (ZB): | |
Publikationsportal JuSER |
Morally judicious behavior forms the fabric of human sociality. Here, we sought to investigate neural activity associated with different facets of moral thought. Previous research suggests that the cognitive and emotional sources of moral decisions might be closely related to theory of mind, an abstract-cognitive skill, and empathy, a rapid-emotional skill. That is, moral decisions are thought to crucially refer to other persons' representation of intentions and behavioral outcomes as well as (vicariously experienced) emotional states. We thus hypothesized that moral decisions might be implemented in brain areas engaged in 'theory of mind' and empathy. This assumption was tested by conducting a large-scale activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies, which assessed 2,607 peak coordinates from 247 experiments in 1,790 participants. The brain areas that were consistently involved in moral decisions showed more convergence with the ALE analysis targeting theory of mind versus empathy. More specifically, the neurotopographical overlap between morality and empathy disfavors a role of affective sharing during moral decisions. Ultimately, our results provide evidence that the neural network underlying moral decisions is probably domain-global and might be dissociable into cognitive and affective sub-systems. |