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| Rhesus Monkey (by Einar Fredricksen) |
Therefore, if one explores the territory that lies between the two temples of the skull, the "Holy Grail" of
kindness might be discovered somewhere within the brain. At least that's what Duke University neuroscientist Michael Platt seems to be thinking. Co-author of a study that was published in a December 2012 issue of Nature
Neuroscience on the neural roots of altruism, Platt came up with
some interesting speculations concerning charitable behavior.
He wonders whether "vicarious experience and reward is perhaps what actually drives giving behavior [in monkeys] and perhaps drives charity in people." This tentative conclusion is derived from his laboratory observations of rhesus monkeys. Platt noticed that
when these monkeys clearly understood their choices between giving themselves a squirt of juice, giving another monkey a squirt of juice, or giving an inanimate object a squirt of juice – they preferred giving themselves juice over giving another monkey juice, but also preferred giving another monkey juice over giving an inanimate object juice.
Platt also observed that the same region (the anterior cingulate gyrus) of the brain would respond whether the monkeys gave themselves or other monkeys juice (although different neurons within this region were involved for each of these two choices). Live
Science reports that this "same brain region has been
implicated in other social processes" such as human empathy when a romantic partner is pinched. This region of the brain might thus be somehow able to "encode vicarious experiences when others are happy or sad."
Whether we're kind to others because it's vicariously pleasurable - or whether we're kind to others because
it's ethically called for - the result can certainly be a more peaceful world for humans, monkeys and all other sentient beings.
Resources
http://www.livescience.com/25860-altruism-brain-cells-found.html
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