Neural Correlates of Moral Judgment in Dilemma Versus Non-Dilemma Contexts

Moral dilemmas have been extensively used to probe the hierarchy of moral preferences. However, human moral judgment frequently operates not only through competing principles but also in straightforward transgression contexts that do not constitute a dilemma. Consequently, it is unclear whether the moral circuitry is differentially engaged in dilemma-based versus non-dilemma-based moral processing.

We synthesized neuroimaging studies of dilemma-based moral tasks and non-dilemma moral tasks. Activation likelihood estimation revealed shared regions including the medial prefrontal cortex and temporoparietal junction (TPJ).

Non-dilemma tasks showed greater engagement of the left ventromedial prefrontal cortex, left orbitofrontal cortex, right temporal pole, and right precuneus, regions that have been implicated in affective valuation and rapid social appraisal. In contrast, moral dilemma tasks showed greater engagement of the left dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and bilateral TPJ, regions commonly associated with conflict monitoring and mental-state inference. Meta-analytical connectivity modeling indicated salience, default mode, and limbic network engagement during non-dilemma tasks, with additional central executive network recruitment during dilemma tasks. Activation network mapping revealed that both task types engage a common mesocorticolimbic connectivity network.

These findings indicate that non-dilemma and dilemma-based moral tasks share a common neural core while showing differential patterns of regional involvement that may reflect their differing cognitive and affective demands.