Selfishness On-Off Switch Located In The Brain
October 10th, 2006
A study suggests that a small part on the right side of the brain called the dorsolateral prefontal cortex (DLPFC) suppresses selfishness, that is according to neuroscientists from the University of Zurich and Harvard Medical School.
When they used electricity to temporarily disable that area in volunteers, these volunteers were unsuppressed in their urge to grab money from others even though they knew they should not. These acts of selfishness were revealed while the volunteers played a behavioral science game called the Ultimatum Game.
Source : “Diminishing Reciprocal Fairness by Disrupting the Right Prefrontal Cortex” Daria Knoch, et al. Science (6 October 2006 Issue)
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