2008-05-18 Exploring The Mechanics Of Judgment, Beliefs: Technique Images Brain Activity When We Think Of Others

2008-05-18 \human nature\morality\empathy\compassion ScienceDaily http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080515212112.htm Exploring The Mechanics Of Judgment, Beliefs: Technique Images Brain Activity When We Think Of Others &ldquo;Using fMRI, [MIT neuroscientist Rebecca Saxe] has identified an area of the brain (the temporoparietal junction) that lights up when people think about other people's thoughts, something we do often as we try to figure out why others behave as they do.&rdquo;  Using fMRI, [MIT neuroscientist Rebecca Saxe] has identified an area of the brain (the temporoparietal junction) that lights up when people think about other people's thoughts, something we do often as we try to figure out why others behave as they do.

That finding is "one of the most astonishing discoveries in the field of human cognitive neuroscience," says Nancy Kanwisher, the Ellen Swallow Richards Professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT and Saxe's PhD thesis adviser. Looking at the fMRI image shown, this is quite a small part of the brain. In how many people is this area defective, damaged, or missing? How do people behave (e.g. with regard to areas like "compassion") when this happens?   