Where Is Morality?

Is there a brain region responsible for moral decisions? Functional imaging studies have shown areas of activation in normal subjects asked to make moral decisions, but it is unclear whether these areas produce the decision or whether the moral dilemmas elicit emotions that activate these areas. Patients with damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPC) — the general region damaged in Phineas Gage — have impaired autonomic activity in response to emotionally charged pictures and diminished empathy, embarrassment, and guilt.

This study involved 6 patients with adult-onset, focal, bilateral VMPC lesions; 12 neurologically normal controls; and 12 patients with brain damage that spared the VMPC. Participants were presented with nonmoral s…