Why we help others - scientists peer into the brain to see why some help more than others

[The Straight Story]

Interview: Why we help others
By CHRISTINE DELL'AMORE

WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Why some of us help our fellow man while others stay selfish has long been a riddle to scientists. Now, Scott Huettel, an associate professor of psychiatry at Duke University and colleagues are beginning to form a picture of how our brains drive altruism.

Q. How did the experiment work?

A. We brought (45) people into a lab and had them pick a charity of choice. We put them into an MRI scanner and (asked them) to play a game in which they can earn money for themselves and for charity. We found a part of the brain -- the posterior superior temporal cortex (or pSTC) -- is more active when (the subjects) watched the computer play a game than (when) playing the game themselves.

That part of the brain is associated with aspects of perception, or the ability to see meaning or goals in a situation. (For instance), if you see a rock moving from place to place, (pSTC is activated if) someone picked it up, but not if it's just rolling down the hill. It's not just motion -- it is motion caused by something.

We then gave every subject a questionnaire that asked them how often they helped others. We looked at how brain activation related to answers. Those who reported helping others more showed greater activation in that region when playing than watching -- so that brain area was activated as a trait of altruism.

Q. Why did you choose a computer program?

A. We went in with the hypothesis that the most active area (is the one associated with) rewards in the brain. We chose a game that often can evoke activation in reward areas. We found something surprising: The area more associated with perception (was activated). Reward is not unimportant -- it's how rewarding you feel when giving to charity and how well you can interpret someone else's intentions and goals that are important for altruism.

http://www.newsdaily.com/Science/UPI-1-20070129-18370600-bc-us-altruism-interview-q-a.xml

[ashling]

1. My post on this last week

( which I can't find because it has dropped off of my posts and I don't have the research function)
included a clip from a staement by CHAS (Conservatives for Hack Science) a totally fictitious but entirely believable name of a group funded by EXXON/MOBIL and other rightwing organizations. They maintain that there is no such thing as this area of the brain, and that if if there is, investigating it will lead to gayness in young boys. Also, altruism doesn't exist, and nicotene is not addictive.

:sarcasm:

[The Straight Story]

2. ROFL (nt)

[flvegan]

3. "the ability to see meaning or goals"

isn't selfless, and therefore should default a completely inaccurate view of altruism.

I don't think that selfishness nor selflessness can be viewed by a scanner. Find a scanner that can measure human ego, and maybe you have a start.

Altruism has NOTHING to do with reward.

[pitohui]

4. agree that ability to see meaning/goals is not correlated to altruism

disagree that altruism has "nothing" to do with reward, for many people it's pretty much all about being superior to the other person -- the ultimate reward

[flvegan]

6. Look "altruism" up, okay?

al·tru·ism /ˈæltruˌɪzəm/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1. the principle or practice of unselfish concern for or devotion to the welfare of others (opposed to egoism).
2. Animal Behavior. behavior by an animal that may be to its disadvantage but that benefits others of its kind, as a warning cry that reveals the location of the caller to a predator.

[BlueJazz]

5. I could have saved them all that trouble. Just Ask: Dem or Repub??

done deal

[Nikki Stone1]

7. ROTF!

:rofl: