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Altruistic behaviors relieve physical pain
Yilu Wang1, Jianqiao Ge2, Hanqi Zhang3
1School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences and Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, 100871 Beijing, China.
Summary
Performing altruistic acts can alleviate physical pain, even chronic pain in cancer patients. This pain relief is linked to brain activity changes, suggesting helping others offers personal benefits.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
- Social Science
Background:
- Altruistic behaviors incur costs but enhance performer well-being.
- The paradox of costly altruism benefiting the performer is explored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the pain-relieving effects of performing altruistic behaviors.
- To understand the neural mechanisms underlying the pain-alleviating benefits of altruism.
Main Methods:
- Conducted 2 pilot studies and 3 experiments involving altruistic actions.
- Utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure brain activity.
- Assessed pain relief in healthy adults and cancer patients.
Main Results:
- Performing altruistic behaviors significantly reduced physical pain.
- fMRI revealed reduced brain activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and bilateral insula in response to pain.
- Ventral medial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) activity mediated pain reduction and correlated with experienced meaningfulness.
Conclusions:
- Altruistic actions can buffer individuals from unpleasant physical conditions, including chronic pain.
- The VMPFC plays a key role in the neural pathways linking altruism, meaningfulness, and pain relief.
- Helping others may offer tangible health benefits by modulating pain perception.
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