Neural mechanisms underlying helping behaviors motivated by empathic joy

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25750407
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Basic / Social brain science
• Research Institution: Tokyo Metropolitan University (2014-2015); National Institute for Physiological Sciences (2013)
• Principal Investigator: Kawamichi Hiroaki 首都大学東京, 人間健康科学研究科, 客員研究員 (30596391)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 共感 / 援助 / fMRI / 報酬系

Outline of Final Research Achievements

High sociality contributes to helping behavior. One of major motives for helping behavior is empathic joy, empathizing with anticipated joy of help recipient. We conducted functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments to investigate neural correlates underlying helping behaviors motivated by empathic joy. As a result, we found activity in reward system (dorsal striatum) during helping behaviors with alleviating aversive arousal response in anterior cingulate cortex. Furthermore, we showed empathic social behavior is perceived as reward and alleviates visual cortex activation in response to aversive stimuli. This result suggested that interrelationship between empathic joy and pain motivates helping behavior and such kind of social behavior is effective for recipients.

Free Research Field

社会神経科学