Neural traits characterize unconditional cooperators, conditional cooperators, and noncooperators in group-based...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Social Psychology
• Behavioral Economics

Background:

• Societal functioning relies on public goods contribution, yet significant variations in cooperative behavior exist.
• Understanding the neural and cognitive underpinnings of these behavioral differences (non-cooperators, conditional cooperators, unconditional cooperators) is crucial but poorly understood.
• Previous research has not fully elucidated the sources of heterogeneity in prosocial behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the neural correlates of different cooperative strategies in the Public Goods Game.
• To explain the heterogeneity in contribution behavior using neuroimaging and behavioral clustering.
• To identify brain regions associated with unconditional and conditional cooperation.

Main Methods:

• Utilized source-localized resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) to measure brain activity.
• Employed a model-free clustering approach to categorize participants' behavior in the Public Goods Game.
• Correlated neural activity patterns with distinct cooperative behavioral types.

Main Results:

• Both unconditional and conditional cooperators exhibited higher baseline activation in the right temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) compared to noncooperators.
• The right TPJ is implicated in social cognition.
• Conditional cooperators additionally showed higher baseline activation in the left lateral prefrontal cortex (lPFC), associated with behavioral control.

Conclusions:

• Cooperative behavior is associated with distinct neural signatures.
• Higher baseline activation in the TPJ may underpin prosocial tendencies.
• Enhanced lPFC activation in conditional cooperators suggests superior behavioral control, enabling adaptive cooperation and risk mitigation against exploitation.