New Delhi, May 27 (IANS) A new study on Monday revealed a specific brain region that is linked to our willingness to help others.
The study, made by researchers at the University of Birmingham and the University of Oxford, shows for the first time how a region called the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) has a critical role in helping, or ‘prosocial’ behaviours.
vmPFC is located right at the front of the brain, which is known to be important for decision-making and other executive functions.
Understanding how the brain makes “helping” decisions may “motivate people to tackle large global challenges, such as climate change, infectious disease, and international conflict. It is also essential for finding new approaches to treating disorders of social interactions,” said the team in the paper, published in Nature Human Behaviour.
“Prosocial behaviours are essential for addressing global challenges. Yet helping others is often effortful and humans are averse to effort. Understanding how effortful helping decisions are processed in the brain is extremely important,” said lead author Professor Patricia Lockwood.
The findings are part of a study of patients with brain damage to that region. The team recruited 25 patients who had vmPFC damage, and 15 patients with damages elsewhere in the brain, and compared them with 40 healthy people.
The participants were subjected to an experiment where they met another person anonymously. They then completed a decision-making task to measure how willing they were to exert physical effort (squeezing a grip force device) to earn rewards (bonus money) for themselves and the other person. The results showed that the vmPFC was necessary for motivation to help others, as those with vmPFC damage were found less willing to help others.
Besides understanding prosocial motivation, the study may also help develop new treatments for clinical disorders such as psychopathy, the researchers said.
–IANS
rvt/vd
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by TodayIndia.news and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TodayIndia.news We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, TodayIndia.news takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
