Value computations in ventral medial prefrontal cortex during charitable decision making incorporate input from regions involved in social cognition
Open accessAbstract
Little is known about the neural networks supporting value computation during complex social decisions. We investigated this question using functional magnetic resonance imaging while subjects made donations to different charities. We found that the blood oxygenation level-dependent signal in ventral medial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) correlated with the subjective value of voluntary donations. Furthermore, the region of the VMPFC identified showed considerable overlap with regions that have been shown to encode for the value of basic rewards at the time of choice, suggesting that it might serve as a common valuation system during decision making. In addition, functional connectivity analyses indicated that the value signal in VMPFC might integrate inputs from networks, including the anterior insula and posterior superior temporal cortex, that are thought to be involved in social cognition.
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The Cake Gambling task is not expected to substantially modulate dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which is involved in planning and self-control.
“For example, this task is not expected to modulate substantially the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which is involved in planning and self-control (Bunge et al., 2002; Hare et al., 2010; Kable and Glimcher, 2009).”
From A systematic review of fMRI reward paradigms used in studies of adolescents vs. adults: The impact of task design and implications for understanding neurodevelopment (2013) · cites this paper as Hare et al., 2010
Neurobiological variables have only rarely been used as predictors of individual differences in altruism.
“and neurobiological variables have only rarely been used as predictors of individual differences in altruism (de Quervain et al., 2004;Harbaugh et al., 2007;Hare et al., 2010;Moll et al., 2006;Tricomi et al., 2010).”
From Linking Brain Structure and Activation in Temporoparietal Junction to Explain the Neurobiology of Human Altruism (2012) · cites this paper as Hare et al., 2010
People are more satisfied when their own free choice (i.e., donation) benefits a charity and they exhibit greater ventral striatum activity compared to when the charity benefits the same amount without the donator's choice.
“However, people are more satisfied when their own free choice (i.e., donation) benefits a charity and they exhibit greater ventral striatum activity compared to when the charity benefits the same amount without the donator's choice 61, 64.”
From The social brain and reward: Social information processing in the human striatum (2014) · cites this paper as [64]
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- Authors
- Hare, T. A., Camerer, C. F., Knoepfle, D. T., O'Doherty, J. P., & Rangel, A.
- Affiliations
- California Institute of Technology (US)
- Venue
- The Journal of Neuroscience
- Publisher
- Society for Neuroscience
- Published
- 2010-01-13
- Volume
- 30
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 583-590
- ISSN
- 0270-6474 (ISSN-L)
- 1529-2401
- PMC
- PMC6633003
- OpenAlex
- W1993110206
- Cited by
- 527
- References
- 38
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 50 · 2023: 32 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 37 · 2020: 26 · 2019: 33 · 2018: 32 · 2017: 40 · 2016: 43 · 2015: 34 · 2014: 30 · 2013: 47 · 2012: 31
- FWCI
- 23.86
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (acceptedVersion, other-oa)
- CaltechAUTHORS (California Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › General Decision Sciences › Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Keywords
- ventromedial prefrontal cortex, value computation, voluntary donations, social cognition, anterior insula, posterior superior temporal cortex, functional connectivity, subjective value, reward valuation
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Brain Mapping, Charities, Cognition, Decision Making, Female, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Neural Pathways, Oxygen, Reward, Social Behavior, Linear Models, Prefrontal Cortex, Young Adult
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