Exploring the neural correlates of (altered) moral cognition in psychopaths

Toward a Brain-Based Bio-Marker of Guilt

Neuroscience Insights ◽

10.1177/2633105520957638 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 ◽

pp. 263310552095763

Author(s):

Hongbo Yu ◽

Leonie Koban ◽

Molly J. Crockett ◽

Xiaolin Zhou ◽

Tor D. Wager

Keyword(s):

Functional Mri ◽

Neural Correlates ◽

Moral Cognition ◽

Interpersonal Interactions ◽

Affective States ◽

Neuroscience Research ◽

Negative Affective States

Guilt is a quintessential emotion in interpersonal interactions and moral cognition. Detecting the presence and measuring the intensity of guilt-related neurocognitive processes is crucial to understanding the mechanisms of social and moral phenomena. Existing neuroscience research on guilt has been focused on the neural correlates of guilt states induced by various types of stimuli. While valuable in their own right, these studies have not provided a sensitive and specific bio-marker of guilt suitable for use as an indicator of guilt-related neurocognitive processes in novel experimental settings. In a recent study, we identified a distributed Guilt-Related Brain Signature (GRBS) based on 2 independent functional MRI datasets. We demonstrated the sensitivity of GRBS in detecting a critical cognitive antecedent of guilt, namely one’s responsibility in causing harm to another person, across participant populations from 2 distinct cultures (ie, Chinese and Swiss). We also showed that the sensitivity of GRBS did not generalize to other types of negative affective states (eg, physical and vicarious pain). In this commentary, we discuss the relevance of guilt in the broader scope of social and moral phenomena, and discuss how guilt-related biomarkers can be useful in understanding their psychological and neurocognitive mechanisms underlying these phenomena.

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Parsing the neural correlates of moral cognition: ALE meta-analysis on morality, theory of mind, and empathy

Brain Structure and Function ◽

10.1007/s00429-012-0380-y ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 217 (4) ◽

pp. 783-796 ◽

Cited By ~ 289

Author(s):

Danilo Bzdok ◽

Leonhard Schilbach ◽

Kai Vogeley ◽

Karla Schneider ◽

Angela R. Laird ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Theory Of Mind ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Neural Correlates ◽

Moral Cognition

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What sentimentalists should say about emotion

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x18002601 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 42 ◽

Author(s):

Charlie Kurth

Keyword(s):

Moral Judgment ◽

Recent Work ◽

Relevant Information ◽

Moral Cognition ◽

Multilevel Structure

Abstract Recent work by emotion researchers indicates that emotions have a multilevel structure. Sophisticated sentimentalists should take note of this work – for it better enables them to defend a substantive role for emotion in moral cognition. Contra May's rationalist criticisms, emotions are not only able to carry morally relevant information, but can also substantially influence moral judgment and reasoning.

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Commentaries and Rejoinder on

Social Psychology ◽

10.1027/1864-9335/a000206 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 45 (4) ◽

pp. 327-334 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Han Gong ◽

Douglas L. Medin ◽

Tal Eyal ◽

Nira Liberman ◽

Yaacov Trope ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Moral Judgment ◽

Psychological Distance ◽

Temporal Distance ◽

Moral Cognition ◽

Cultural Systems ◽

Moral Condemnation ◽

Construal Levels

In the hope to resolve the two sets of opposing results concerning the effects of psychological distance and construal levels on moral judgment, Žeželj and Jokić (2014) conducted a series of four direct replications, which yielded divergent patterns of results. In our commentary, we first revisit the consistent findings that lower-level construals induced by How/Why manipulation lead to harsher moral condemnation than higher-level construals. We then speculate on the puzzling patterns of results regarding the role of temporal distance in shaping moral judgment. And we conclude by discussing the complexity of morality and propose that it may be important to incorporate cultural systems into the study of moral cognition.

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