SynthesisHuman brain mapping2021
A meta-analysis on shared and distinct neural correlates of the decision-making underlying altruistic and retaliatory punishment.
Synthesis in Human brain mapping, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Anterior insula and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex as a hub of self-regulation: combining activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis and meta-analytic connectivity modeling analysis.Brain structure & function · 2023Pooled it
- A meta-analysis on shared and distinct neural correlates of the decision-making underlying altruistic and retaliatory punishment.Human brain mapping · 2021Pooled it
- The neurophysiological correlates of altruism: A scoping review of fMRI, EEG, and autonomic studies.Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience · 2026Article
- Exploring individual differences in the impact of cognitive constraints on prosocial decision-making via intrinsic brain connectivity.Brain imaging and behavior · 2025Article
- Altruism Enhances Frontal Alpha Asymmetry and Reduces Sympathetic Activity: A Multimodal EEG-ECG Study With Implications for Therapeutic Interventions.Brain and behavior · 2025Article
- Using Machine Learning to Determine a Functional Classifier of Retaliation and Its Association With Aggression.JAACAP open · 2025Article
- Exploring the ethical values and social drivers behind consumer preferences for cruelty-free products.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Individuals who violate social norms will most likely face social punishment sanctions. Those sanctions are based on different motivation aspects, depending on the context. Altruistic punishment occurs if punishment aims to re-establish the social norms even at cost for the punisher. Retaliatory punishment is driven by anger or spite and aims to harm the other. While neuroimaging research highlighted the neural networks supporting decision-making in both types of punishment in isolation, it remains unclear whether they rely on the same or distinct neural systems. We ran an activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis on functional magnetic resonance imaging data on 24 altruistic and 19 retaliatory punishment studies to investigate the neural correlates of decision-making underlying social punishment and whether altruistic and retaliatory punishments share similar brain networks. Social punishment reliably activated the bilateral insula, inferior frontal gyrus, midcingulate cortex (MCC), and superior and medial frontal gyri. This network largely overlapped with activation clusters found for altruistic punishment. However, retaliatory punishment revealed only one cluster in a posterior part of the MCC, which was not recruited in altruistic punishment. Our results support previous models on social punishment and highlight differential involvement of the MCC in altruistic and retaliatory punishments, reflecting the underlying different motivations.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.