Feelings of shame and guilt are associated with distinct neural activation in youth

TY - JOUR

T1 - Feelings of shame and guilt are associated with distinct neural activation in youth

AU - Bastin, Coralie

AU - Rakesh, Divyangana

AU - Harrison, Ben J.

AU - Davey, Christopher G.

AU - Allen, Nicholas B.

AU - Muller, Sandrine

AU - Whittle, Sarah

N1 - Funding Information: This study was funded by a NARSAD (Brain and Behavior Research Foundation) Young Investigator Award (to SW) and The University of Melbourne . CB and DR were funded by Melbourne Research Scholarships (MRS) . BJH was supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Career Development Fellowship ( 1124472 ). CGD was supported by an NHMRC Career Development Fellowship ( 1061757 ). SW was supported by an NHMRC Career Development Fellowship ( 1125504 ). Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Elsevier B.V.

PY - 2021/2

Y1 - 2021/2

N2 - Shame and guilt are moral emotions that play an important role in social functioning. There is limited knowledge about the neural underpinnings of these emotions, particularly in young people. In the current study, 36 healthy females (mean age 18.8 ± 1.9 years) underwent functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, during which they reflected on their decisions about social moral dilemmas, and subsequently received negative or positive peer feedback. Ratings of shame and guilt were used as parametric modulators of brain activity. Shame was associated with decreased activity in the superior temporal sulcus and precentral gyrus during reflection. Guilt was associated with decreased activity in the precuneus during positive feedback, and in the hippocampus and supramarginal gyrus during negative feedback. Results suggest that shame and guilt are associated with activity in brain regions involved in social cognition and emotion regulation; however, they have distinct underlying neural circuitry that may be differentiated based on social evaluation.

AB - Shame and guilt are moral emotions that play an important role in social functioning. There is limited knowledge about the neural underpinnings of these emotions, particularly in young people. In the current study, 36 healthy females (mean age 18.8 ± 1.9 years) underwent functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, during which they reflected on their decisions about social moral dilemmas, and subsequently received negative or positive peer feedback. Ratings of shame and guilt were used as parametric modulators of brain activity. Shame was associated with decreased activity in the superior temporal sulcus and precentral gyrus during reflection. Guilt was associated with decreased activity in the precuneus during positive feedback, and in the hippocampus and supramarginal gyrus during negative feedback. Results suggest that shame and guilt are associated with activity in brain regions involved in social cognition and emotion regulation; however, they have distinct underlying neural circuitry that may be differentiated based on social evaluation.

KW - Adolescent

KW - Emotions

KW - fMRI

KW - Guilt

KW - Magnetic resonance imaging

KW - Moral development

KW - Morals

KW - Shame

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85099840797&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2021.108025

DO - 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2021.108025

M3 - Article

C2 - 33484753

AN - SCOPUS:85099840797

SN - 0301-0511

VL - 159

JO - Biological Psychology

JF - Biological Psychology

M1 - 108025

ER -