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Scientists Find 'Altruistic' Center of the Brain
davidwr writes "A team of researchers at Duke University published a paper linking the brain's posterior superior temporal cortex to altruistic behavior. The BBC also picked up the story. If confirmed this has applications in neurology, psychology, child-rearing, and a host of other domains. From the BBC piece: 'Using brain scans, the US investigators found this region related to a person's real-life unselfish behaviour. The Duke University Medical Center study on 45 volunteers is published in Nature Neuroscience. The participants were asked to disclose how often they engaged in different helping behaviours, such as doing charity work, and were also asked to play a computer game designed to measure altruism.'"
I'm sick of being altruistic while selfish bastards get all the money.
This just seems like a very roundabout, tenuous way to find the altruism center. They used an extremely unreliable method -- survey responses -- and then had people play a computer game they *know* is pretend, which would just show how altruistic they are in fake scenarios, which isn't really altruism, just like my willingness to slaughter demons in Doom doesn't show a real "willingness to resort to violence".
Much cheaper way to accomplish the same thing:
-Scan Ayn Rand's brain (Peikoff would be a fine subsititute today if you need a living one).
-Compare to an average human's brain.
-Look for the most striking difference.
Apology to Ubuntu forum.
Objectivists and Libertarians think voluntary altruism is entirely ok, i.e. I help other people because it makes ME feel good to do so. What they object to is mandatory altruism, i.e. the government forcing one at gunpoint to support others.
Tasks requiring the perception of agency activate the posterior superior temporal cortex (pSTC), particularly in the right hemisphere
Wow, that is one informative article. I can't wait for the countering study that concludes the 'Greed' center of the brain has been found just opposite the posterior superior temporal cortex and there is big fight on the opposite left side of the brain in the soon to be named 'AynRandian degenerative temporal cortex'?
end:sarcasmGod: When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all.
Surely one of the CIV series right?
Subjects heard shouting phrases such as... "AAAAHA, Taste my ICBM you Iroquois scum", where marked down!
That was really great of them to do this study and share it with us. They didn't even have to do that!
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responsible for altruism, and immediately patented it.
Jesus Christ. I mean, their shoe-size is as likely to correlate to altruism.
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Probably playing WoW and running low levels through RFC with your level 60.
This behavior is still selfish.
It's just collectively selfish instead of individually selfish (at least statistically).
Stop worrying about the risks of nuclear power and start worrying about the risks of not using nuclear power.
Thus the posterior superior temporal cortex should be the target of many evolutionary arms races seeking to gain or prevent extended phenotypic control of altruistic behavior.
Seastead this.
If this can be proven to be accurate, perhaps it can be used on politicians before an election to see just how much good they actually intend to do for the public.
Or would the machine not be able to handle negative values?
Ok, how can you heal that cancer out?
they will throw themselves on a grenade to save a comrade's life five years hence.
And tell me what's wrong with throwing a comrade on the grenade to save your own, uhh, nevermind...
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
This is so reidiculous.
The Duke University Medical Center study on 45 volunteers is published in Nature Neuroscience.
45 volunteers?
Firstly, 45 is not enough for a statistical analysis involving brain scans, there is enough multiplicity as it is, there was bound to be *some* congruence. Seriously, they are making predictions from 45 people?!?!
On top of that, they are volunteers?
Umm, in a study on altruism, there would have to be (at least) two separate groups, one which was paid, and one that donated their time...
The participants were asked to disclose how often they engaged in different helping behaviours, such as doing charity work
And they believe the answers? Why not ask people "Are you a liar?" and find out that 75% of the people always tell the truth.
Sheesh! This study is an affront to altruism.
and were also asked to play a computer game designed to measure altruism.
By who?
Altruism us unselfish behaviour. Guess what, what is unselfish to A may be tremendously selfish to B. Republicans and Democrats have severely different defintions of selfish and unselfish. And then there's Xians and Muslims. The list goes on.
Being selfish is an inherently subjective behaviour, making altruism also inherently subjective. It changes by the person. So, if this "game" could measure altruism, it would be only one person's subjective view of altruism, implemented in a game.
And even if it could measure altruism, it is a game. And as many people know, people use in-game personas for who they may like to be, or to act out immature feelings that the person would not normally act with. How many people play games exactrly as they live life?
On top of that, they knew this was for a study. Being self-concious would have an obvious affect on altruistic tendencies.
He said true altruism was a rare or even intangible thing.
*Sigh*
Sounds like he found what he wanted to find. There are many altruistic people. You just have to know where to look.
"Altruism is usually reciprocal - you do something for someone and you expect something back ultimately.
/me cries.
And _he_ is an expert on altruism???
"The other types are kin altruism, giving to ones relatives, and being cheated or cuckolded."
Oh please. We give to our families not out of altruism, but because of identification. This is very basic psycology.
He said it would be interesting to study people at the extremes of altruism and selfishness and see if their brains differed significantly.
So, now altruistic people are not normal?
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Moral of the story is, ask a hedonist about altruism and he'll tell you that it's an abnormality.
While it is true that we are born selfish, Freud explained why very well, because we cannot differentiate betwen our own ego and anyone else's for a couple years, and our own ego isn't fully developed until about age five. By that time we have a firm root in selfishness and it takes work to change it.
Trying to find the physiological manifestation of psycological behaviour is an arduous task that rarely yieds anything even remotely conclusive. Yet, as in any frontier, researchers are doing their best, and sooner or later it will likely yeild fruit. However, taking on complex behavioral systems which are based in culture, change by the person, and even in a given person changes throughout his years, assuming results is preposterous. Let alone in a small group, and by people who don't even know what it means.
I'd call it junk science, but even that name would give it too much credit.
Have you read my journal today?
Is it still altruism if you do something to advance the colony? What if it is because you identify the colony as an extension of yourself? Those who believe in altruism as a natural thing might be inclined to jump on this selfless bandwagon. I see no reason to believe that this region of the brain is associated with anything more than base functions of social and group interaction. If you identify yourself as part of a group then actions to benefit that group are merely selfishness on another level.
Furthermore, in a general sense, helping others is merely promote self interest. Say you are nice to people at the office and help them out whenever possible. When you take these actions there may not be a specific self interest in mind at the moment but you are aware that you are building goodwill toward yourself that may benefit you when you in turn need help.
That's a really uncharitable viewpoint.