Communication within the brain is key to empathetic decision-making
Duke researchers tracked how signals ping back and forth within the brain during empathic decision-making in rats. (Stock image)杜克大学的研究人员追踪了老鼠在共情决策中,大脑中的信号是如何来来回回的。
It's a classic conundrum: while rushing to get to an important meeting or appointment on time, you spot a stranger in distress. How do you decide whether to stop and help, or continue on your way?
这是一个典型的难题:在匆忙赶去一个重要的会议或约会时,你会发现一个遇险的陌生人。你是如何作出是否停下来帮忙的决定的,还是继续走你的路?
A new study by neuroscientists at Duke and Stanford University sheds light on how the brain coordinates these complex decisions involving altruism and empathy. The answer lies in the way multiple areas of the brain collaborate to produce the decision, rather than just one area or another making the call.
神经科学家的一项新研究揭示了大脑如何协调这些复杂的决定,包括利他主义和共情。答案位于大脑的多个区域,它们协同做出了决定,而不仅仅是一个区域或另一个区域发出 了命令。
杜克大学和斯坦福大学"The brain is more than just the sum of its individual parts," said Jana Schaich Borg, assistant research professor in the Social Science Research Institute and the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at Duke.
认知神经科学中心的助理研究员Jana Schaich Borg说。
“大脑不仅仅是各个部分的总和,”在社会科学研究所和杜克大学Using a technique that combines electrical monitoring of brain activity with machine learning, the team was able to tune into the brain chatter of rats engaged in helping other rats.
研究团队利用一种将大脑活动电监测与机器学习相结合的技术,使之能够收听老鼠在帮助其他老鼠时大脑的交谈。
They found that regions deep within the brain -- those primarily responsible for emotions and basic bodily functions -- are core to empathic decision-making. The specific role of each brain area is not fixed, but can change depending on which other areas it is communicating with, and what specific messages it is receiving, according to Schaich Borg.
他们在大脑深处发现的区域——那些主要负责情绪和基本身体功能的区域——是共情决策的核心。各个脑区的特定的角色不是固定的,而且,可以根据其他区域与其的沟通、以及其收到的特殊的讯息而发生变化,Schaich Borg说。
"We know that there are many brain regions that seem to do multiple things, sometimes at the same time, but we don't know how the brain pulls that off," Schaich Borg said.