Cortical thickness and prosocial behavior in school-age children: A population-based MRI study

Thijssen, Sandra; Wildeboer, Andrea; Muetzel, Ryan L.; Bakermans‐Kranenburg, Marian J.; Marroun, Hanan El; Hofman, Albert; Jaddoe, Vincent W. V.; Lugt, Aad van der; Verhulst, Frank C.; Tiemeier, Henning; IJzendoorn, Marinus H. van; White, Tonya

doi:10.1080/17470919.2015.1014063

Cited by 18 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…However, the clusters we found might be specifically related to donating behavior as well. A previous study indeed showed that a thicker frontal cluster was uniquely associated with prosocial behavior (controlling for aggressive behavior; Thijssen et al, 2015).In the current study we found no association in resting state functional connectivity between the two morphological clusters and donating behavior, suggesting that these clusters do not share a functional organization related to donating behavior. Independent mechanisms seem to play a role in donating to a charity.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 52%

“…Although prosocial behavior can be observed in children as young as 18 months old (Warneken & Tomasello, 2006), to our knowledge only two studies examined neurobiological correlates of prosocial behavior in children. A thicker cortex in the left superior frontal and rostral middle frontal cortex has been shown to be associated to more parent-reported prosocial behavior in typically developing 6-9-year-old children, whereas a smaller bifrontal diameter in preterm infants at term equivalent postmenstrual age (37-43 weeks) was related to lower levels of parentreported prosocial behavior at age 5 (Rogers et al, 2012;Thijssen et al, 2015). A smaller bifrontal diameter might be indicative of decreased frontal growth (Rogers et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Van IJzendoorn, Bakermans-Kranenburg, Pannebakker, & Out, 2010), several studies showed an association between brain morphology and prosocial behavior (e.g. Thijssen et al, 2015), which may indicate that variation in prosocial behavior is also (partially) inherent to individuals. As distinct neurobiological mechanisms might underlie different types of prosocial behavior, differentiating between the various types of prosocial behavior is important (Paulus, 2014(Paulus, , 2015.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Neuroanatomical correlates of donating behavior in middle childhood

Wildeboer

Thijssen

Muetzel

et al. 2017

Social Neuroscience

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The neurobiological correlates of prosocial behavior are largely unknown. We examined brain structure and functional connectivity correlates of donating to a charity, a specific, costly, form of prosocial behavior. In 163 children, donating was measured using a promotional clip for a charity including a call for donations. Children could decide privately whether and how much they wanted to donate from money they had received earlier. Whole brain structural MRI scans were obtained to study associations between cortical thickness and donating behavior. In addition, resting state functional MRI scans were obtained to study whole brain functional connectivity and to examine functional connectivity between regions identified using structural MRI. In the lateral orbitofrontal cortex/pars orbitalis and pre-/postcentral cortex, a thicker cortex was associated with higher donations. Functional connectivity with these regions was not associated with donating behavior. These results suggest that donating behavior is not only situationally driven, but is also related brain morphology. The absence of functional connectivity correlates might imply that the associations with cortical thickness are involved in different underlying mechanisms of donating.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 52%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Neuroanatomical correlates of donating behavior in middle childhood

Wildeboer

Thijssen

Muetzel

et al. 2017

Social Neuroscience

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“…Although extant work delineates the neurofunctional correlates of intent-based moral judgements, the neurostructural basis of this process remains sparsely studied. Previous morphometry studies relating to moral cognition have examined how regional variation in brain structure relates to individual differences in endorsed moral values 23 , moral development 24 , group-focused moral foundations 25 , injustice sensitivity 26 , indirect reciprocity 27 , prosocial behavior [28][29][30][31] , and moral judgments in clinical populations 32,33 . To our knowledge, only one prior voxel-based morphometry (VBM) study has investigated this issue in a small sample (n = 19), recruited as controls for comparison with a neurological population 32 .…”

Section: Neuroanatomical Correlates Of Forgiving Unintentional Harmsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neuroanatomical correlates of forgiving unintentional harms

Patil

Calò

Fornasier

et al. 2017

Preprint

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Mature moral judgments rely on the consideration of the perpetrator’s mental state as well as the harmfulness of the outcomes produced. Prior work has focused primarily on the functional correlates of how intent information is neurally represented for moral judgments, but few studies have investigated whether individual differences in neuroanatomy can also explain variation in moral judgments. In the current study, we conducted voxel-based morphometry analyses combined with functional magnetic resonance imaging to address this question. We found that local grey matter volume in left anterior superior temporal sulcus, a region in the functionally defined theory of mind or mentalizing network, was associated with the degree to which participants relied on information about innocent intentions to forgive accidental harms. Our findings provide further support for the key role of mentalizing in the forgiveness of accidental harms and contribute preliminary evidence for the neuroanatomical basis of individual differences in moral judgments.

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“…Previous morphometry studies relating to moral cognition have examined how regional variation in brain structure relates to individual differences in endorsed moral values23, moral development24, group-focused moral foundations25, injustice sensitivity26, indirect reciprocity27, prosocial behavior28293031, and moral judgments in clinical populations3233. To our knowledge, only one prior voxel-based morphometry (VBM) study has investigated this issue in a small sample ( n = 19), recruited as controls for comparison with a neurological population32.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Neuroanatomical correlates of forgiving unintentional harms

Patil

Calò

Fornasier

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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Mature moral judgments rely on the consideration of a perpetrator’s mental state as well as harmfulness of the outcomes produced. Prior work has focused primarily on the functional correlates of how intent information is neurally represented for moral judgments, but few studies have investigated whether individual differences in neuroanatomy can also explain variation in moral judgments. In the current study, we conducted voxel-based morphometry analyses to address this question. We found that local grey matter volume in the left anterior superior temporal sulcus, a region in the functionally defined theory of mind or mentalizing network, was associated with the degree to which participants relied on information about innocent intentions to forgive accidental harms. Our findings provide further support for the key role of mentalizing in the forgiveness of accidental harms and contribute preliminary evidence for the neuroanatomical basis of individual differences in moral judgments.

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Cortical thickness and prosocial behavior in school-age children: A population-based MRI study

Cited by 18 publications

References 63 publications

Neuroanatomical correlates of donating behavior in middle childhood

Neuroanatomical correlates of donating behavior in middle childhood

Neuroanatomical correlates of forgiving unintentional harms

Neuroanatomical correlates of forgiving unintentional harms

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