Neurobiología de la conducta moral humana

Abstract

In recent years there have been numerous studies, with different approaches, whose goal is to understand the neural basis of our social and moral behavior. New findings show that morality has certain innate components, that would be common to all human beings, while others are acquired (learned and recorded in the brain) and culturally specific.Neuroscientific studies have shown that some brain regions, particularly in the prefrontal cortex, are essential to moral behavior, as individuals injured in these territories show serious deficits in moral decisions. Moreover, in the last years, based on clinical neurology and functional neuroimaging, neuroscientists have been able to analyze the neural mechanisms that underlie moral behavior. The data obtained suggests that many of the emotional brain structures whose primary function would be to make easier our social life, have an essential role in judgment and moral behavior, generating quick intuitions of what is right and wrong. Such a system would work integrated with the system responsible for conscious deliberation in order to solve the most complex or ambiguous dilemmas.