Grit Hein Finds Out How Neural Responses Indicate Our Willingness to Help

Neuron published a study with Branco Weiss Fellow Grit Hein as first author showing that witnessing a person from our own group or an outsider suffering pain causes neural responses in two very different regions of the brain.

Little is known about the neurobiological mechanisms underlying prosocial decisions and how they are modulated by social factors such as perceived group membership. The study investigates the neural processes preceding the willingness to engage in costly helping toward ingroup and outgroup members.

The study was published in Neuron, Volume 68, Issue 1.