Specifically, the research points to a part of the brain mass called the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) as the region that is especially attentive to the good news that affects the others. Of course, your response changes substantially depending on the levels of empathy. In people considered highly empathetic, the anterior cingulate cortex reacts only to good things that happen to other individuals, while in non-empathic subjects, the ACC also reacts to bad news of its own.
For researchers at the University College of London, the study demonstrates the relevance of this part of the brain in disorders related to social behaviors, such as psychopathy and autism. It could also be a starting point for investigating the brain mechanisms that produce behavioral disorders in response to one's own or others' successes.
To conduct the study, the researchers MRI scanned the brains of 30 volunteers, ages 19 to 32, exposed to viewing images that predicted the chances that they or others would earn money. Patricia Lockwood, Professor of Psychology and Language Sciences, explained that the anterior cingulate cortex region was always activated in all participants when someone else was going to earn money. However, activation was higher in individuals who considered themselves empathic.
