The Benefits of Prosocial Behavior for Mental and Physical Health: A Neuroscience Approach

Prosocial behaviors, or actions intended to benefit others, embody the most selfless aspects of our nature. However, these behaviors can benefit the giver too. Prior work suggests that prosocial behavior can generate feelings of reward, increase mental and physical health, and decrease mortality in the giver. The investigation of the nature of these benefits, however, is still nascent, with emphasis on outcomes rather than mechanisms. Here, we review neural and behavioral evidence suggesting that this unique profile of benefits arises from prosocial behavior's engagement of the mammalian caregiving system, which reinforces caregiving behavior and dampens threat responses. Specifically, we review the neural regions critical to caregiving and prosocial behavior as well experimental evidence showing that prosocial behavior can causally improve correlates of mental and physical health. We suggest that prosocial behavior benefits physical and mental health by attenuating physiological stress responses and generating feelings of social connection, purpose, and meaning.