High Levels of Moral Reasoning Correspond with Increased Gray Matter

A team of researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine recently published a study in the journal PLOS ONE that showed increased gray matter in the brains of individuals with higher levels of moral reasoning. Participants of the study were administered cognitive schema and personality tests in order to determine their moral reasoning in regard to complex dilemmas, such as medical assisted suicide. Participants then underwent MRI scanning to investigate differences in gray matter volume between those who reached the post-conventional level of moral reasoning (past the age at which the brain fully matures) and were compared to those who had not reached that level yet. With regard to brain structure, the team observed increased gray matter in the prefrontal cortex in participants who reached the post-conventional level of moral reasoning compared to those who are still at a pre-conventional and conventional level. “This research adds an investigation of individual differences in moral reasoning to the expanding landscape of moral neuroscience,” said the lead author of the study. However, the author noted further research is needed to determine whether these changes are the cause or effect of higher levels of moral reasoning. To read more about this study, click here.