Multimodal imaging to identify brain markers of human prosocial behavior.

Abstract

How humans achieve such a high degree of prosocial behavior is a subject of considerable interest. Exploration of the neural foundations of human prosociality has garnered significant attention in recent decades. Nevertheless, the neural mechanisms underlying human prosociality remain to be elucidated. To address this knowledge gap, we analyzed multimodal brain imaging data and data from 15 economic games. The results revealed several significant associations between brain characteristics and prosocial behavior, including stronger interhemispheric connectivity and larger corpus callosum volume. Greater functional segregation and integration, alongside fewer myelin maps combined with a thicker cortex, was linked to prosocial behavior, particularly within the social brain regions. The current study demonstrates that these metrics serve as brain markers of human prosocial behavior and provides novel insights into the structural and functional brain basis of human prosocial behavior.Significance Statement The objective of this study was to identify brain markers associated with human prosocial behavior using data from 15 major economic games and multimodal magnetic resonance imaging data. The results of the study suggest that specific brain indicators, including myelin density and resting-state inter-hemispheric functional connectivities, are associated with prosocial behavior. The use of a data-driven approach holds particular significance within the realm of social neuroscience, a field that grapples with a multitude of variables.