Spatial gradient in value representation along the medial prefrontal cortex reflects individual differences in prosociality.

ABSTRACT: Despite the importance of valuing another person's welfare for prosocial behavior, currently we have only a limited understanding of how these values are represented in the brain and, more importantly, how they give rise to individual variability in prosociality. In the present study, participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while performing a prosocial learning task in which they could choose to benefit themselves and/or another person. Choice behavior indicated that participants valued the welfare of another person, although less so than they valued their own welfare. Neural data revealed a spatial gradient in activity within the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), such that ventral parts predominantly represented self-regarding values and dorsal parts predominantly repr

SUBMITTER: Sul S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4485092 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature