School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, 518060 Shenzhen, China.
School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 Mar 23;118(12). doi: 10.1073/pnas.2021745118.
Recent evidence has linked testosterone, a major sex hormone, to selfishness in economic decision-making. Here, we aimed to investigate the neural mechanisms through which testosterone reduces generosity by combining functional MRI with pharmacological manipulation among healthy young males in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, between-subject design. After testosterone or placebo gel administration, participants performed a social discounting task in which they chose between selfish options (benefiting only the participant) and generous options (providing also some benefit to another person at a particular social distance). At the behavioral level, testosterone reduced generosity compared to the placebo. At the neural level ( = 60), the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) encoded the other-regarding value of the generous option during generous choices, and this effect was attenuated by testosterone, suggesting that testosterone reduced the consideration of other's welfare as underpinned by TPJ activity. Moreover, TPJ activity more strongly reflected individual differences in generosity in the placebo than the testosterone group. Furthermore, testosterone weakened the relation between the other-regarding value of generous decisions and connectivity between the TPJ and a region extending from the insula into the striatum. Together, these findings suggest that a network encompassing both cortical and subcortical components underpins the effects of testosterone on social preferences.
最近的证据表明，一种主要的性激素睾丸激素与经济决策中的自私行为有关。在这里，我们旨在通过功能性磁共振成像（fMRI）与药理学操纵相结合，在一项双盲、安慰剂对照、被试间设计的健康年轻男性中，研究睾丸激素通过何种神经机制降低慷慨程度。在给予睾丸激素或安慰剂凝胶后，参与者进行了一项社会折扣任务，在该任务中，他们在自私的选择（仅使参与者受益）和慷慨的选择（在特定的社会距离上也为另一个人提供一些利益）之间进行选择。在行为层面上，与安慰剂相比，睾丸激素降低了慷慨程度。在神经水平上（n = 60），顶颞联合区（TPJ）在慷慨选择时对慷慨选择的他人相关价值进行编码，而睾丸激素减弱了这种作用，表明睾丸激素降低了 TPJ 活动所支持的对他人福利的考虑。此外，TPJ 活动在安慰剂组比睾丸激素组更强烈地反映了慷慨行为的个体差异。此外，睾丸激素削弱了慷慨决策的他人相关价值与 TPJ 与从脑岛延伸到纹状体的区域之间的连通性之间的关系。综上所述，这些发现表明，一个包含皮质和皮质下成分的网络为睾丸激素对社会偏好的影响提供了基础。
