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The Neurobiology of Moral Behavior: Review and Neuropsychiatric Implications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 November 2014

Mario F. Mendez
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Abstract

Morality may be innate to the human brain. This review examines the neurobiological evidence from research involving functional magnetic resonance imaging of normal subjects, developmental sociopathy, acquired sociopathy from brain lesions, and frontotemporal dementia. These studies indicate a “neuromoral” network for responding to moral dilemmas centered in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and its connections, particularly on the right. The neurobiological evidence indicates the existence of automatic “prosocial” mechanisms for identification with others that are part of the moral brain. Patients with disorders involving this moral network have attenuated emotional reactions to the possibility of harming others and may perform sociopathic acts. The existence of this neuromoral system has major clinical implications for the management of patients with dysmoral behavior from brain disorders and for forensic neuropsychiatry.

Type
Review Articles
Information
CNS Spectrums , Volume 14 , Issue 11 , November 2009 , pp. 608 - 620
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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