Deconstructing the brain's moral network: dissociable functionality between the temporoparietal junction and
Oriel Feldmanhall1, Dean Mobbs, Tim Dalgleish
1Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK. This research was supported by the Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit. Oriel.FeldmanHall@mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk.
Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
|January 17, 2013
Summary
This study reveals distinct brain network activity during moral decision-making. Difficult moral choices engage the temporoparietal junction (TPJ), while easier ones involve the ventro-medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC).
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Moral Psychology
Background:
- Moral cognition involves a distributed brain network.
- Understanding the interaction of these regions is crucial but limited.
- Functional specialization within this network requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the neural correlates of difficult versus easy moral decisions.
- To examine the functional dissociation between key brain regions.
- To elucidate the dynamic interplay of cognitive processes in moral judgment.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was employed.
- Participants made difficult and easy moral decisions.
- Activity was compared to matched non-moral decision tasks.
Main Results:
- A functional double dissociation was observed between the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) and ventro-medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC).
- Difficult moral decisions showed increased TPJ activation and decreased vmPFC/OFC activity.
- Easy moral decisions showed increased vmPFC activation and decreased TPJ/dlPFC activity.
Conclusions:
- Moral cognition is a dynamic process.
- It is implemented by interacting, functionally dissociable brain networks.
- TPJ and vmPFC exhibit distinct roles in moral decision-making.
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