Our brain can initially be altruistic

Neuroscientists have established a connection between the structure of various parts of the brain and properties of human behavior such as altruism and empathy. Two separate studies were carried out by specialists from the University of California (UCLA).

In the first study, the results of which were published in the journal Human Brain Mapping, 20 subjects were tested for empathy, showing them a video in which a person’s hand was pricked with a pin, and then asking them to imitate the emotions presented in photographs of various people.

The subjects' brains were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Investigations were made on such areas of the brain as the amygdala, somatosensory cortex and Rayleigh islet. These regions are associated with the processing of emotions, including the ability to imitate.

In the second part of the first study, subjects played a “ dictator ” - a famous game that economists and psychologists use to study decision-making methods. In the course of the game, people should give back part of the money they received, and leave the other part to themselves.

People who had the most active prefrontal cortex of the brain turned out to be the most fierce, sharing a minimal part of the money received. Subjects who showed the greatest activity in regions of the brain associated with manifestations of emotions and imitation of others parted more generously with money.

Experts call such generosity “prosocial resonance” and directly connect it with altruism. The better people are able to show empathy and empathize with others, the easier it is for them to act with others as they do with themselves.

The second study was to answer the question of whether the prefrontal cortex blocks these altruistic impulses. For this, the subjects using a non-invasive magnetic stimulation techniquetemporarily muffled the activity of regions of the brain that block various impulses that affect behavior.

According to the authors of the study, if people were originally egoists, then blocking these parts of the brain would allow their egoistic impulses to manifest themselves more strongly. In fact, people who underwent such processing, on average, gave up one and a half times more than before.

From the results of the experiments, scientists conclude that people are initially oriented towards altruism and mutual assistance. In addition to gaining the technical ability to control people's behavior through a non-invasive effect on the brain, specialists hope to develop new methods of therapy for people who, as a result of circumstances, have changed their behavior to less social.

Many scientists are trying to connect the parameters of a person’s personality with his connection , a complete description of the structure of connections in the nervous system of the body. The term was proposed by scientists in 2005. One hypothesis says that many aspects of the human personality, personality and intellect are embedded in neuronal connections, which is why describing a human connection can be a big step towards understanding many mental processes.