Neural Correlates of Moral Judgment in Dilemma Versus Non-Dilemma Contexts.
4 affiliations
- 1School of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Behavioral and Mental Health of Gansu Province, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou, China.
- 2Department of Education and Psychology, Academy of Wellness and Human Development, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China.
- 3Institute of Advanced Intelligence and Computing (IAIC), Agency For Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore.
- 4Life Science Imaging Center, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China.
Abstract
Purpose
Moral dilemmas have been extensively used to probe the hierarchy of moral preferences. However, human moral judgment frequently operates not only through competing principles but also in straightforward transgression contexts that do not constitute a dilemma. Consequently, it is unclear whether the moral circuitry is differentially engaged in dilemma-based versus non-dilemma-based moral processing.Method
We synthesized neuroimaging studies of dilemma-based moral tasks and non-dilemma moral tasks. Activation likelihood estimation revealed shared regions including the medial prefrontal cortex and temporoparietal junction (TPJ).Findings
Non-dilemma tasks showed greater engagement of the left ventromedial prefrontal cortex, left orbitofrontal cortex, right temporal pole, and right precuneus, regions that have been implicated in affective valuation and rapid social appraisal. In contrast, moral dilemma tasks showed greater engagement of the left dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and bilateral TPJ, regions commonly associated with conflict monitoring and mental-state inference. Meta-analytical connectivity modeling indicated salience, default mode, and limbic network engagement during non-dilemma tasks, with additional central executive network recruitment during dilemma tasks. Activation network mapping revealed that both task types engage a common mesocorticolimbic connectivity network.Conclusion
These findings indicate that non-dilemma and dilemma-based moral tasks share a common neural core while showing differential patterns of regional involvement that may reflect their differing cognitive and affective demands.
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BibTeX
@article{fu2026neural,
title = {{Neural Correlates of Moral Judgment in Dilemma Versus Non-Dilemma Contexts.}},
author = {Junjun Fu and Di Song and Serenella Tolomeo and Rongjun Yu},
journal = {Brain and behavior},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1002/brb3.71864},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42908177},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Neural Correlates of Moral Judgment in Dilemma Versus Non-Dilemma Contexts.
AU - Junjun Fu
AU - Di Song
AU - Serenella Tolomeo
AU - Rongjun Yu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Brain and behavior
DO - 10.1002/brb3.71864
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42908177
AB - Purpose Moral dilemmas have been extensively used to probe the hierarchy of moral preferences. However, human moral judgment frequently operates not only through competing principles but also in straightforward transgression contexts that do not constitute a dilemma. Consequently, it is unclear whether the moral circuitry is differentially engaged in dilemma-based versus non-dilemma-based moral processing.Method We synthesized neuroimaging studies of dilemma-based moral tasks and non-dilemma moral tasks. Activation likelihood estimation revealed shared regions including the medial prefrontal cortex and temporoparietal junction (TPJ).Findings Non-dilemma tasks showed greater engagement of the left ventromedial prefrontal cortex, left orbitofrontal cortex, right temporal pole, and right precuneus, regions that have been implicated in affective valuation and rapid social appraisal. In contrast, moral dilemma tasks showed greater engagement of the left dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and bilateral TPJ, regions commonly associated with conflict monitoring and mental-state inference. Meta-analytical connectivity modeling indicated salience, default mode, and limbic network engagement during non-dilemma tasks, with additional central executive network recruitment during dilemma tasks. Activation network mapping revealed that both task types engage a common mesocorticolimbic connectivity network.Conclusion These findings indicate that non-dilemma and dilemma-based moral tasks share a common neural core while showing differential patterns of regional involvement that may reflect their differing cognitive and affective demands.
SN - 2162-3279
ER -