The dopaminergic reward system underpins gender differences in social preferences

Alexander Soutschek (), Christopher J. Burke, Anjali Raja Beharelle, Robert Schreiber, Susanna C. Weber, Iliana I. Karipidis, Jolien ten Velden, Bernd Weber, Helene Haker, Tobias Kalenscher and Philippe N. Tobler
Additional contact information
Alexander Soutschek: University of Zurich
Christopher J. Burke: University of Zurich
Robert Schreiber: University of Zurich
Susanna C. Weber: University of Zurich
Iliana I. Karipidis: University of Zurich
Jolien ten Velden: University of Zurich
Bernd Weber: University Hospital Bonn
Helene Haker: University of Zurich and ETH Zurich
Tobias Kalenscher: Heinrich Heine University
Philippe N. Tobler: University of Zurich

Nature Human Behaviour, 2017, vol. 1, issue 11, 819-827

Abstract: Abstract Women are known to have stronger prosocial preferences than men, but it remains an open question as to how these behavioural differences arise from differences in brain functioning. Here, we provide a neurobiological account for the hypothesized gender difference. In a pharmacological study and an independent neuroimaging study, we tested the hypothesis that the neural reward system encodes the value of sharing money with others more strongly in women than in men. In the pharmacological study, we reduced receptor type-specific actions of dopamine, a neurotransmitter related to reward processing, which resulted in more selfish decisions in women and more prosocial decisions in men. Converging findings from an independent neuroimaging study revealed gender-related activity in neural reward circuits during prosocial decisions. Thus, the neural reward system appears to be more sensitive to prosocial rewards in women than in men, providing a neurobiological account for why women often behave more prosocially than men.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1038/s41562-017-0226-y

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