Researchers used to think that a sense of helping others didn't show up until age 2, and that a sense of fairness — both
parts of altruistic behavior — developed even later, at 6 or 7.
«We hope that learning more about the brain
mechanisms of altruistic behavior and its related social behaviors we can promote the positive social behaviors that families desire; particularly in patients under rehabilitation for different forms of neurodegenerative disorders or brain injury,» says Jordan Grafman, from Brain Injury Research Program, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Chicago, USA.