Article Figures & Data
Figures
- Figure 1.
A–C, BOLD response when judging other people correlated with money allocated to other participants in Study 1 (depicted at x = 13; A), money allocated to the other participant in Study 2 (depicted at x = 1; B), time spent helping the other participant in Study 2 (depicted at x = 0; C). D, These correlations were consistently identified in the same region of dorsal MPFC, as displayed in an exclusive conjunction of all three distal analyses (the conjunction of images in A–C; depicted at x = 4). E, BOLD response in a similar region of dorsal MPFC was also observed during more proximal choices to act altruistically, as revealed by the contrast of altruistic > selfish choices in Study 2 (depicted at x = −14).
- Figure 2.
A region of dorsal MPFC (depicted at x = 4) was defined from an independent sample of participants who alternately read stories about mental states and physical representations. The contrast of mental > physical trials revealed an extensive region of dorsal MPFC. The response in these voxels when judging other people correlated significantly with money that participants allocated to others across both studies. The scatterplot displays the correlation between response of this dorsal MPFC region (in standardized arbitrary units; x-axis) and generosity (standardized proportion of money donated; y-axis), r(29) = 0.46, p < 0.01 (Study 1: r(14) = 0.53, p < 0.05; Study 2: r(13) = 0.34, p = 0.22).
Tables
- Table 1.
Brain regions in which BOLD response consistently correlated with measures of distal generosity
Region x y z Voxels Cross-study correlations Study 1: Giving Dorsal MPFC/superior frontal gyrus 26 64 24 253 0.32, 0.41 10 58 20 24 50 16 18 62 24 Subgenual anterior cingulate/orbitofrontal cortex 0 30 −6 298 0.27, 0.32 2 38 −12 0 46 −4 Parietal cortex −46 −68 48 1041 0.31, 0.03 −14 −86 40 −18 −66 22 −32 −82 44 −6 −64 38 −10 −52 34 −24 −56 10 −12 −48 42 −12 −74 36 −30 −76 36 −6 −66 22 −22 −68 14 Study 2: Giving Dorsal MPFC 0 66 22 129 0.40 0 64 32 Middle frontal gyrus −24 44 12 115 0.43 −34 50 14 Inferior temporal gyrus −54 −20 −12 122 0.35 −64 −22 −6 Tail of caudate 24 −34 22 86 0.37 28 −42 18 Occipital cortex −18 −82 32 360 0.41 −30 −84 18 −16 −84 20 Study 2: Helping Dorsal MPFC 2 64 20 106 0.43 Note: Columns display peak voxels (followed by any additional local maxima) of regions obtained from random-effects, whole-brain regression analyses that identify regions in which BOLD response was significantly correlated with measures of generosity in the distal analysis (p < 0.01, corrected). Regions listed are those that produced moderate correlations (r > 0.30) with measures of distal generosity across studies. These cross-study correlations refer to the correlation between average BOLD response over all the voxels of the specified region and generosity measures from the alternate study. Thus, for Study 1, the rightmost column displays the correlation between BOLD response and amount of money (first value) and time (second value) donated to the target in Study 2. Similarly, for Study 2, the rightmost column displays the correlation between BOLD response and amount of money donated in Study 1. Coordinates refer to the stereotaxic space of the Montreal Neurological Institute.
