Bibliographic Details
| Title: |
NEUROBIOLOGÍA DE LAS EMOCIONES MORALES. |
| Alternate Title: |
Neurobiology of moral emotions. |
| Authors: |
E. Mercadillo, Roberto1, Luis Díaz, José2, A. Barrios, Fernando1 barrios@inh.unam.mx |
| Source: |
Salud Mental. may2007, Vol. 30 Issue 3, p1-11. 11p. |
| Subjects: |
FACIAL expression, ANTISOCIAL personality disorders, BRAIN imaging, EMOTIONS & cognition, FRONTAL lobe, PERSONALITY disorders, NEUROBIOLOGY |
| Abstract (English): |
This work presents a critical review of the historical, theoretical, and neurobiological bases of the theory of moral emotions. Neuroimaging methods and protocols used to study the neural correlates of moral emotions and the analysis of the brain functions involved in their processing, permit the formulation of hypotheses that attempt to understand some emotional and cognitive processes related to moral emotions. One such hypothesis refers to a neuro-matrix involving sensory systems, brainstemmediated physiological reactions and frontal brain regions processing the interaction between moral and emotional stimuli. Cross-cultural research on human facial expression has identified universal patterns to express basic emotions such as fear, anger, or happiness. Nevertheless, the experience of some emotions and their facial expressions are regulated by social and cultural mechanisms. This type of regulation is observed in moral emotions since they are linked to the interests or welfare either of society as a whole, or of persons other than the judge or agent. Two typical features that identify moral emotions are their typical elicitors and tendencies towards specific actions. The release of a moral emotion is the perception of implicit and explicit violations of social norms and stereotypes included in personal codes, attitudes, and beliefs. In turn, the actions ensuing from moral emotions are communal or prosocial, because they promote a benefit in others and/or in the social order. Although there is not a definitive taxonomy of moral emotions, four families of prosocial feelings are suggested: a) other-condemning emotions (contempt, anger, disgust); b) self-conscious emotions (shame, embarrassment, guilt); c) other-suffering emotions (compassion); d) other-praising emotions (gratitude, awe, elevation). Such emotions are relevant to the concept of morality because this is a complex representation that includes models of prohibited actions, notions of good and bad, concepts of fairness, ideals of justice, or justifications of punitive actions. Moreover, the cognitive processes and behaviors involved in moral emotions are related to the theory of mind that refers the ability to represent the mental and emotional states of others, such as their thoughts, desires, beliefs, intentions, and knowledge. The neurobiological substrate of this capacity involves cerebral regions related to the experience of basic emotions, such as the amygdala and the cingulated cortex, and regions related to complex cognition and emotional-social contexts, such as the prefrontal cortex and the superior temporal sulcus. Neurobiological approaches to moral emotions have become relevant to study psychopathologies linked to antisocial behaviors, particularly the psychopathic or Antisocial Personality Disorder. Psychopaths show decreased emotional and physiological reactions to emotional stimuli and deficiencies to identify emotional expressions. However, they do not fail to represent or to infer others mental states or theory of mind. Therefore, the psychopathic disorder is not only linked to distortions in interpreting socially-learned moral values, but also to alterations of cognitive processes required to link the affective system to moral values. This assumption is supported by brain-imaging studies demonstrating the involvement of areas associated to the processing of complex social stimulus and language, such as prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, polar frontal cortex, and anterior temporal lobe in psychopathic patients. The affected areas also include regions such as the amygdala, ventromedial hypothalamus, thalamus, and caudate nucleus involved in the experience or expression of emotions.… [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Abstract (Spanish): |
El presente trabajo constituye una revisión crítica de los fundamentos históricos y teóricos que dieron origen a la actual teoría de las emociones morales. Asimismo, se presentan los métodos de neuroimagen y los protocolos que se han utilizado para estudiar la actividad cerebral correlacionada a las emociones morales y se analiza la función de tales regiones. Finalmente, se refiere una hipótesis para integrar los procesos cognoscitivos que subyacen a las emociones morales con los resultados que han sido reportados en los estudios neurobiológicos empíricos. Según la hipótesis, el comportamiento moral estaría regulado por una representación cognitiva sustentada por una neuromatríz que requiere de la codificación de sistemas sensoriales, la activación de reacciones fisiológicas reguladas por el tallo cerebral y el procesamiento de estímulos morales y emocionales regulado por la corteza prefrontal medial y orbitofrontal. La experiencia subjetiva y la expresión motora de las emociones morales se originan en función de los intereses de la sociedad en su conjunto o de personas distintas a quien experimenta la emoción. Estas emociones se desencadenan típicamente en respuesta a la inferencia de un quebrantamiento de normas sociales. Además, se definen por una tendencia a la acción dirigida hacia el reestablecimiento de la norma social o del valor moral que se han percibido como quebrantados. Se han propuesto cuatro familias de emociones morales: 1) Emociones de condena, 2) Emociones de autoconciencia, 3) Emociones relativas al sufrimiento ajeno, 4) Emociones de admiración. Recientemente, la investigación de las emociones morales se ha tornado relevante para la formación de modelos de estudio de psicopatologías que presentan conductas antisociales, particularmente de la psicopatía o Trastorno Antisocial de la Personalidad caracterizado por la falta de empatía, la despreocupación por los sentimientos y seguridad de los demás y el quebrantamiento constante de las reglas y las obligaciones sociales. La psicopatía se ha correlacionado a disfunciones en regiones cerebrales reguladoras de los procesos cognoscitivos que vinculan la experiencia afectiva con el aprendizaje de normas sociales. En fechas recientes la investigación neurobiológica de las emociones morales se basa fundamentalmente en el registro de la actividad cerebral mediante técnicas de neuro-imagen como la Resonancia Magnética Funcional y la Tomografía por Emisión de Positrones. El registro de la actividad metabólica cerebral se realiza simultáneamente con la resolución de dilemas morales, la lectura de enunciados con contenido moral y la observación pasiva o instruida de imágenes afectivas. Los resultados de estas investigaciones sugieren que las estructuras más relevantes implicadas en la cognición moral son la circunvolución frontal medial, la corteza del cíngulo, el precuneus, la corteza restrospenial, el surco temporal superior, el lóbulo parietal inferior, la corteza frontal ventromedial y orbitofrontal, el polo temporal y la amígdala.… [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| Database: |
MedicLatina |
