Health News - Sunday, January 21, 2007
Are you a giver? Brain scan finds the
truth
(Source: Reuters)
Altruism, one of the most difficult human behaviors to define, can be detected in brain scans, U.S. researchers reported on Sunday. They found activity in a specific area of the brain could predict altruistic behavior -- and people's own reports of how selfish or giving they are.
"Although understanding the function of this brain region may not necessarily identify what drives people like Mother Theresa, it may give clues to the origins of important social behaviors like altruism," said Scott Huettel, a neuroscientist at Duke University in North Carolina who led the study. Continue reading