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Brief Communications

Response of Dorsomedial Prefrontal Cortex Predicts Altruistic Behavior

Adam Waytz, Jamil Zaki and Jason P. Mitchell
Journal of Neuroscience 30 May 2012, 32 (22) 7646-7650; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.6193-11.2012
Adam Waytz
1Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208,
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Jamil Zaki
2Stanford University, Palo Alto, California 94305, and
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Jason P. Mitchell
3Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
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Abstract

Human beings have an unusual proclivity for altruistic behavior, and recent commentators have suggested that these prosocial tendencies arise from our unique capacity to understand the minds of others (i.e., to mentalize). The current studies test this hypothesis by examining the relation between altruistic behavior and the reflexive engagement of a neural system reliably associated with mentalizing. Results indicated that activity in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex—a region consistently involved in understanding others' mental states—predicts both monetary donations to others and time spent helping others. These findings address long-standing questions about the proximate source of human altruism by suggesting that prosocial behavior results, in part, from our broader tendency for social-cognitive thought.

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The Journal of Neuroscience: 32 (22)
Journal of Neuroscience
Vol. 32, Issue 22
30 May 2012
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Response of Dorsomedial Prefrontal Cortex Predicts Altruistic Behavior
Adam Waytz, Jamil Zaki, Jason P. Mitchell
Journal of Neuroscience 30 May 2012, 32 (22) 7646-7650; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.6193-11.2012

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Response of Dorsomedial Prefrontal Cortex Predicts Altruistic Behavior
Adam Waytz, Jamil Zaki, Jason P. Mitchell
Journal of Neuroscience 30 May 2012, 32 (22) 7646-7650; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.6193-11.2012
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