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Published online 19 October 1999 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news991021-6
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The neurobiology of morals
Concepts such as right and wrong are meaningless to young infants, but as children grow up they develop an understanding of what is considered to be socially acceptable behaviour. New research sheds light on the brain mechanisms that underlie this aspect of human personality
Among the earliest evidence that social and moral decisions have a biological basis was the famous case of Phineas Gage, a railroad worker whose brain was damaged when an iron bar was driven through his skull as a result of a dynamiting accident in 1848. Gage survived the accident, but although his intellect was unimpaired, his personality was transformed from that of a conscientious worker to an irresponsible drifter.
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