Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex Is Critical for Helping Others Who Are Suffering

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Social Psychology
• Clinical Neurology

Background:

• Clinical studies suggest ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) damage reduces empathy.
• Experimental measurement of empathic behavior in vmPFC patients is lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally measure empathic behavior in neurological patients with vmPFC damage.
• To understand the role of the vmPFC in real-time empathic responses.

Main Methods:

• Induced empathy using an ecologically-valid scenario.
• Compared eight vmPFC patients to matched brain-damaged and healthy controls.
• Measured real-time empathic emotional responses and behavior.

Main Results:

• Patients with vmPFC damage donated less money to a suffering individual compared to controls.
• This provides the first direct experimental evidence for the vmPFC's role in empathy.

Conclusions:

• The vmPFC is critical for empathic behavior toward suffering individuals.
• Findings may inform targeted interventions to improve social skills in vmPFC patients.