The Neuroscience of Emotions
The Neuroscience of Guilt
The ventromedial prefrontal cortex, empathy circuits and reparative motivation: how the brain generates moral self-correction
1,024-word article with 10 Harvard references.
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Guilt is the brain's mechanism for moral self-correction, a painful but adaptive emotion that signals when our behaviour has violated our own standards or harmed someone we care about. Unlike shame, which attacks the self, guilt targets the behaviour and motivates repair. This article explores the neural basis of guilt, why it exists, and what happens when it becomes excessive or absent.
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- Full 1,024-word article with 10 Harvard references
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