Representation of economic preferences in the structure and function of the amygdala and prefrontal cortex

Abstract

Social value orientations (SVOs) are economic preferences for the distribution of resources – prosocial individuals are more cooperative and egalitarian than are proselfs. Despite the social and economic implications of SVOs, no systematic studies have examined their neural correlates. We investigated the amygdala and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) structures and functions in prosocials and proselfs by functional magnetic resonance imaging and evaluated cooperative behavior in the Prisoner’s Dilemma game. We found for the first time that amygdala volume was larger in prosocials and positively correlated with cooperation, while DLPFC volume was larger in proselfs and negatively correlated with cooperation. Proselfs’ decisions were marked by strong DLPFC and weak amygdala activity, and prosocials’ decisions were marked by strong amygdala activity, with the DLPFC signal increasing only in defection. Our findings suggest that proselfs’ decisions are controlled by DLPFC-mediated deliberative processes, while prosocials’ decisions are initially guided by automatic amygdala processes.

Dissociable contributions of the prefrontal cortex in group-based cooperation

“…A sample of lesion patients provided no evidence that the vmPFC or amygdala are necessary for cooperation in a PGG. This is particularly striking given prior fMRI investigations linking vmPFC ( Rilling et al , 2002 ) and amygdala ( Fermin et al , 2016 ) with cooperative decisions in two-player games. In contrast, the extent of dlPFC damage associated with reduced cooperation, and the patient with the greatest dlPFC damage did not cooperate on a single trial.…”

A lesion model of envy and Schadenfreude: legal, deservingness and moral dimensions as revealed by neurodegeneration

“…This meta-analytic database aggregates activation from thousands of previous functional MRI studies ( Yarkoni et al , 2011 ). This technique has been used to define main brain areas related to cognitive processes even in studies using imaging methods, including VBM ( Vendetti and Bunge, 2014 ; Fermin et al , 2016 ; Allen et al , 2017 ). In Neurosynth online system we introduced as keywords: ‘moral’ and ‘social cognition’.…”

A comparative fMRI meta-analysis of altruistic and strategic decisions to give

“…Applying fMRI meta-analysis to prosocial decisions identifies consistent activations across studies, tasks and controls. However, averaging ignores connectivity (Hein et al, 2016) and individual differences such as social value orientation (Emonds et al, 2014(Emonds et al, , 2011Fermin et al, 2016), attachment style (Schneider-Hassloff et al, 2015), age (Fett et al, 2014), gender (Krach et al, 2009) and personality (Garbarini et al, 2014). This paper includes the decisions of 1150 participants but there are more published studies than had maps or coordinates available for analysis.…”