Scientists pinpoint brain region responsible for effortful helping behavior
Altruistic behavior takes place in a different part of the brain to similar activity to help oneself, new research has found An area of the brain specifically involved in putting in effort to help others out has been pinpointed by scientists at the University of Birmingham and University of Oxford. The research, published in Current Biology, shows that effortful altruistic behaviour -choices people make that help others -- takes place in a different part of the brain from that used to make physically demanding choices that help oneself. Understanding more precisely what goes on in the brain when these decisions are made could help clinicians to develop approaches for treating psychopathic behaviours. It could also be useful for better understanding why people are willing to perform everyday effortful helping behaviours like voluntary work, recycling waste to slow global warming or stopping to help strangers. The area identified, called the anterior cingulate cortex gyrus (AC...