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Published March 2013 | Published + Supplemental Material
Journal Article Open

Deconstructing the brain's moral network: dissociable functionality between the temporoparietal junction and ventro-medial prefrontal cortex

Abstract

Research has illustrated that the brain regions implicated in moral cognition comprise a robust and broadly distributed network. However, understanding how these brain regions interact and give rise to the complex interplay of cognitive processes underpinning human moral cognition is still in its infancy. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine patterns of activation for 'difficult' and 'easy' moral decisions relative to matched non-moral comparators. This revealed an activation pattern consistent with a relative functional double dissociation between the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) and ventro-medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). Difficult moral decisions activated bilateral TPJ and deactivated the vmPFC and OFC. In contrast, easy moral decisions revealed patterns of activation in the vmPFC and deactivation in bilateral TPJ and dorsolateral PFC. Together these results suggest that moral cognition is a dynamic process implemented by a distributed network that involves interacting, yet functionally dissociable networks.

Additional Information

© 2013 The Author, Published by Oxford University Press. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in anymedium, provided the originalwork is properly cited. Received 17 July 2012; Accepted 24 November 2012; Advance Access publication 15 January 2013. This research was supported by the Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit.

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August 19, 2023
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