Breakdown of utilitarian moral judgement after basolateral amygdala damage
- Journal:
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- Published:
- DOI:
- 10.1073/pnas.2119072119
- Affiliations:
- 5
- Authors:
- 6
Research Highlight
Locating the moral-dilemma centre of the brain
© KATERYNA KON/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty Images
In moral-dilemma tests, people with damage to a brain region called the basolateral amygdala seldom chose to sacrifice one person even if it would save the lives of thousands of others.
A small, almond-shape structure, the amygdala has been dubbed the fear centre of the brain. Experiments with rodents have indicated that the basolateral amygdala plays a critical role in decisions that require weighing the cost of a sacrifice against the benefit of the outcome. But it wasn’t known whether this carries over to people.
Now, a team led by researchers from the University of Cape Town in South Africa has found compelling evidence that humans use the basolateral amygdala when making such judgements.
They found that five people with damaged basolateral amygdalas due to a rare genetic condition frequently opted to save one person even if it would result in the deaths of thousands.
References
- PNAS 119, e2119072119 (2022). doi: 10.1073/pnas.2119072119