Arrested development: early prefrontal lesions impair the maturation of moral judgement

Bradley C Taber-Thomas; Erik W Asp; Michael Koenigs; Matthew Sutterer; Steven W Anderson; Daniel Tranel

doi:10.1093/brain/awt377

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Arrested development: early prefrontal lesions impair the maturation of moral judgement

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Arrested development: early prefrontal lesions impair the maturation of moral judgement

Bradley C Taber-Thomas, Erik W Asp, Michael Koenigs, Matthew Sutterer, Steven W Anderson and Daniel Tranel

Brain (London, England : 1878), Vol.137(4), pp.1254-1261

04/2014

DOI: 10.1093/brain/awt377

PMCID: PMC3959552

PMID: 24519974

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Abstract

Atypical moral development is associated with antisocial behavior, but the neural systems required for moral development are unclear. Taber-Thomas, Asp et al . study patients with ventromedial prefrontal cortex lesions acquired during development, and find that such lesions result in arrested moral development, as revealed by an increase in self-interested morality. Learning to make moral judgements based on considerations beyond self-interest is a fundamental aspect of moral development. A deficit in such learning is associated with poor socialization and criminal behaviour. The neural systems required for the acquisition and maturation of moral competency are not well understood. Here we show in a unique sample of neurological patients that focal lesions involving ventromedial prefrontal cortex, acquired during development, result in an abnormally egocentric pattern of moral judgement. In response to simple hypothetical moral scenarios, the patients were more likely than comparison participants to endorse self-interested actions that involved breaking moral rules or physically harming others in order to benefit themselves. This pattern (which we also found in subjects with psychopathy) differs from that of patients with adult-onset ventromedial prefrontal cortex lesions—the latter group showed normal rejection of egocentric rule violations. This novel contrast of patients with ventromedial prefrontal cortex lesions acquired during development versus during adulthood yields new evidence suggesting that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex is a critical neural substrate for the acquisition and maturation of moral competency that goes beyond self-interest to consider the welfare of others. Disruption to this affective neural system early in life interrupts moral development.

moral development

emotion

moral judgement

egocentric

Original

prefrontal cortex

Details

Title: Subtitle: Arrested development: early prefrontal lesions impair the maturation of moral judgement
Creators: Bradley C Taber-Thomas - 5 Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
Erik W Asp - 5 Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
Michael Koenigs - 5 Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
Matthew Sutterer - 5 Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
Steven W Anderson - 5 Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
Daniel Tranel - 5 Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Brain (London, England : 1878), Vol.137(4), pp.1254-1261
DOI: 10.1093/brain/awt377
PMID: 24519974
PMCID: PMC3959552
NLM abbreviation: Brain
ISSN: 0006-8950
eISSN: 1460-2156
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Language: English
Date published: 04/2014
Academic Unit: Neurology; Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
Record Identifier: 9984002490002771

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