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February 10, 2012
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David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
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Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
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Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
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Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
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Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
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January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
June 26, 2007
/ 10 Tamuz, 5767
Charity is good for the soul. Now scientists claim it stimulates areas of brain
By
Robert Mitchum
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | (MCT)
That good feeling you get by writing a check to your favorite charity could be your brain patting itself on the back.
According to the journal Science, a team of economists and psychologists at the University of Oregon have found that donating money to charity activates regions of the brain associated with pleasure.
The study represents a major advance in the young field of neuroeconomics, a collaboration between economists and psychologists to determine how the brain directs the way people handle money.
Economic models would suggest "only Bill Gates or Warren Buffett should be making contributions, and everyone else should just free-ride," "But that doesn't happen; there's high participation, where even low-income people are giving away a portion of their income."
Giving to others produces a "warm glow," said one of the authors, economics professor William T. Harbaugh. "People feel good knowing that they're a charitable giver."
Brain-imaging technologies such as functional magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, which uses magnetic waves to monitor acute changes in brain activity, may allow economists to uncover answers about human behavior and motivation that were previously hidden.
"As an economist, I was fascinated that one can actually look inside a person's brain and see them make economic decisions," said Harbaugh. "Once I heard it was possible there was no way I could stop myself" from doing this research.
In the study, female college students were given $100, then told either that a mandatory transfer of money would go from their account to a local food bank or that they could make a voluntary donation to the same charity. At the end of the study, the women were allowed to keep the remainder of the money.
Using MRI, the investigators found that both mandatory and voluntary transfers increased activity in brain areas called the nucleus accumbens and the caudate nucleus. These areas have previously been associated with the brain's response to rewarding stimuli, such as taking street drugs or viewing pictures of loved ones.
The reward reaction was more intense with the voluntary giving, which the authors argue supports the notion of a "warm glow" phenomenon.
"It's mysterious that human beings among all mammals are so hyper-social that our brains are wired to help other people, even strangers. There's very little evidence that other animals have that capacity," said Paul Zak, director of the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies at Claremont Graduate University. "Economists have always been shocked (by unselfish altruism), and now we have a reason for it: It feels good to do this."
In the Oregon study, not all brains showed an equal tendency toward generous behavior. Test subjects whose reward centers reacted more strongly to receiving money were less willing to make donations.
"The brain is directly telling us, 'I like the food bank more than I like me,' or the other way around and can tell you who's going to give," said Colin Camerer, professor economics at the California Institute of Technology. "That's pretty cool."
"Part of the growing interest in neuroeconomics is in trying to predict people's choices from neural signals directly," he said. "Sometimes it's better to ask the brain, not ask the person, as it may be useful for predicting behaviors people will subconsciously exaggerate. Direct bio measurements are like a lie detector to tell you what will really happen."
The authors argue their study supports the idea of "pure altruism" — that people take action even if the behavior is not explicitly in their own interest.
"Evolutionary brain pleasure areas respond not only to what's good for you but to what's good for other people," said Ulrich Mayr, another study author.
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© 2007, Chicago Tribune
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