Brain Structure and Trust

Compelling new research from the department of psychology on how brain structure in people differs according to how trusting people are of others:

The research may have implications for future treatments of psychological conditions such as autism, said the study's lead author Brian Haas, an assistant professor in the department of psychology. Each autism diagnosis is on a spectrum and varies, but some diagnosed with the condition exhibit problems trusting other people.

"There are conditions, like autism, that are characterized by deficits in being able to process the world socially, one of which is the ability to trust people," Haas said. "Here we have converging evidence that these brain regions are important for trust; and if we can understand how these differences relate to specific social processes, then we may be able to develop more targeted treatment techniques for people who have deficits in social cognition."

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"Another finding that we observed was for a brain region called the amygdala. The volume of this area of the brain, which codes for emotional saliency, was greater in those that were both most trusting and least trusting of others. If something is emotionally important to us, the amygdala helps us code and remember it."

Interesting approach to this area of inquiry from an unconventional direction. Mysteries of human cognition being intuited by some of our best young researchers might sound rich with irony; but these findings are also broaden our understanding of the brain, how it develops and, importantly, how some conditions might be better treated. Great work.

Image: The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (yellow) is larger in those that tend to be more trusting of others compared to those that tend to be less trusting of others.