Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Department of Psychology, The University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA.
Biol Psychol. 2021 Feb;159:108025. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2021.108025. Epub 2021 Jan 20.
Shame and guilt are moral emotions that play an important role in social functioning. There is limited knowledge about the neural underpinnings of these emotions, particularly in young people. In the current study, 36 healthy females (mean age 18.8 ± 1.9 years) underwent functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, during which they reflected on their decisions about social moral dilemmas, and subsequently received negative or positive peer feedback. Ratings of shame and guilt were used as parametric modulators of brain activity. Shame was associated with decreased activity in the superior temporal sulcus and precentral gyrus during reflection. Guilt was associated with decreased activity in the precuneus during positive feedback, and in the hippocampus and supramarginal gyrus during negative feedback. Results suggest that shame and guilt are associated with activity in brain regions involved in social cognition and emotion regulation; however, they have distinct underlying neural circuitry that may be differentiated based on social evaluation.
羞耻感和内疚感是在社会功能中发挥重要作用的道德情感。关于这些情感的神经基础，特别是在年轻人中，知之甚少。在当前的研究中，36 名健康女性（平均年龄 18.8±1.9 岁）接受了功能磁共振成像，在此期间，她们反思了自己对社会道德困境的决定，随后收到了负面或正面的同伴反馈。羞耻感和内疚感的评分被用作大脑活动的参数调制器。在反思过程中，羞耻感与上颞回和中央前回的活动减少有关。在积极反馈时，内疚感与楔前叶活动减少有关，而在消极反馈时，与海马体和缘上回活动减少有关。结果表明，羞耻感和内疚感与参与社会认知和情绪调节的大脑区域的活动有关；然而，它们具有不同的潜在神经回路，可以根据社会评价进行区分。
