Neural basis of extraordinary empathy and altruistic motivation
Abstract
A central evolutionary challenge for social groups is uniting a heterogeneous set of individuals towards common goals. One means by which social groups form and endure is by endowing group members with extraordinary prosocial proclivities, such as ingroup love, towards other group members. Here we examined the neural basis of extraordinary empathy and altruistic motivation in African-American and Caucasian-American individuals using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Our results indicate that empathy for ingroup members is neurally distinct from empathy for humankind, more generally. People showed greater response within anterior cingulate cortex and bilateral insula when observing the suffering of others, but African-American individuals additionally recruit medial prefrontal cortex when observing the suffering of members of their own social group. Moreover, neural activity within medial prefrontal cortex in response to pain expressed by ingroup relative to outgroup members predicted greater empathy and altruistic motivation for one's ingroup, suggesting that neurocognitive processes associated with self identity underlie extraordinary empathy and altruistic motivation for members of one's own social group. Taken together, our findings reveal distinct neural mechanisms of empathy and altruistic motivation in an intergroup context and may serve as a foundation for future research investigating the neural bases of intergroup prosociality, more broadly construed.
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mPFC activity in response to perceived pain is associated with decisions to help ingroup members.
“In addition, the mPFC activity in response to perceived pain is associated with decisions to help ingroup members (Hein et al., 2010; Mathur et al., 2010)”
From A neurobiological association of revenge propensity during intergroup conflict (2020) · cites this paper as Mathur et al., 2010
The context of intergroup conflict may shift the key function of the oxytocinergic system from mediating ingroup love to facilitating outgroup hate.
“Although previous studies have demonstrated the role of OT and mPFC activity in altruistic decisions favoring the ingroup (De Dreu et al., 2010; Mathur et al., 2010; De Dreu et al., 2011), our results suggest that the context of intergroup conflict may shift the key function of the oxytocinergic system from mediating ingroup love (a desire to help the ingroup) to facilitating outgroup hate (an Agg”
From A neurobiological association of revenge propensity during intergroup conflict (2020) · cites this paper as Mathur et al., 2010
The mPFC is well-known for its functional role in representing mental states, social emotion, and group identity.
“The mPFC is well-known for its functional role in representing mental states (Amodio and Frith, 2006), social emotion (Harris and Fiske, 2007; Mathur et al., 2010), and group identity (Volz et al., 2009; Molenberghs and Morrison, 2014).”
From A neurobiological association of revenge propensity during intergroup conflict (2020) · cites this paper as Mathur et al., 2010
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- Authors
- Mathur, V. A., Harada, T., Lipke, T., & Chiao, J. Y.
- Affiliations
- Northwestern University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Chiao, Joan Y.
- Venue
- NeuroImage
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2010-07
- Volume
- 51
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 1468-1475
- ISSN
- 1053-8119 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1972224334
- Semantic Scholar
- 4bfdd5ccaac97e2488d972863b326e6b52569e14
- Cited by
- 377
- References
- 56
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 30 · 2020: 61 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 18 · 2017: 27 · 2016: 19 · 2015: 26 · 2014: 30 · 2013: 33 · 2012: 26
- FWCI
- 39.17
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- NeuroImage (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation (BCS-0720312, BCS-0722326)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Action Observation and Synchronization
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Keywords
- empathy, altruistic motivation, in-group favoritism, anterior cingulate cortex, insula, medial prefrontal cortex, racial differences, self-identity, pain perception
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Altruism, Behavior, Black or African American, Brain, Empathy, Female, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Motivation, Nervous System Physiological Phenomena, Pain, Photic Stimulation, Regression Analysis, Software, Stress, Psychological, Prefrontal Cortex, White People, Young Adult
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