amygdala tagged posts

One rhesus macaque grooming another, the primary way these monkeys act prosocially toward one another. Work with these animals helped University of Pennsylvania researcher Michael Platt and other scientists draw their conclusions about the function of the amygdala. Credit: Lauren Brent

The amygdala, at the front end of the brain’s temporal lobe, has long been associated with negative behaviors generally, and specifically with fear. But new research shows this collection of nuclei can also influence positive social functions like kindness and what might be called charitable giving in humans. This could have implications for people with autism, schizophrenia or anxiety-related disorders, Platt said.

“What we’re trying to do is both identify and understand the basic brain mechanism that allow...

As shown in this functional MRI image, the amygdala, a part of the brain involved in processing emotions, is more active in people who are blaming others for their negative actions. Credit: Lawrence Ngo

Judgment hinges on whether action was intentional or unintentional. We constantly read others’ intentions in what they do, especially political candidates. The Duke study is “the first to use neuroscience research tools to try to explain why people are biased toward treating negative actions as intentional but positive actions as unintentional,” said Lawrence Ngo.

Take this scenario commonly used in the field of experimental philosophy: The CEO knew the plan would harm the environment, but he did not care at all about the effect the plan would have on the environment...