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Hey, Brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum here with a classic episode from our archives.

This one gets into some actual brain stuff.

It's about the psychology and sociology of altruism.

Why do we do nice things for other people, even at our own expense?

Hey, Brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum here. Is there such a thing as a truly unselfish, altruistic

act, one in which someone benefits while the person performing the act receives nothing in return?

You could debate the philosophy of harm and good, of cause and effect, of intent and result, and philosophers have for pretty much ever.

But looking at it from another angle, why would we humans possess a sense of selflessness or altruism in the first place?

Is there a biological basis for your good deeds?

Whenever researchers use magnetic resonance imaging or MRI to observe test subjects as they perform a particular task,

it seems that some new secret of our brains is unlocked, and altruism is no

exception. One 2006 study focused on anonymous charitable donations, which are pretty specific

altruistic acts. The giver receives no tangible reward. They give away hard-earned money to benefit

a total stranger, and they can't expect any thanks because the donation is

anonymous. It's altruism at perhaps its purest. But researchers found that the subjects who

contributed to charities did receive some benefit, the warm fuzzies. In the study, the volunteers

had a choice. They could keep money or donate it to charities of differing ideologies.

The researchers found that giving money activated the same reward center in the brain that was

activated when the participants received money. Another study in 2007 also used MRI to study the

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