From a very early age, children are capable of prosocial acts: giving objects, comforting, and sharing with other people. This review addresses current research on the patterns and neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the formation of helping behavior (HB) in early childhood, including the results of the authors’ own work. Methods for studying HB in infants and young children are presented. The developmental factors and neurophysiological mechanisms of instrumental, empathic, and altruistic HB and the role of empathy triggering it are analyzed. Data are presented on the involvement of various brain structures in implementing HB, as well as the mirror system of the brain, the extended part of which includes the sensorimotor and emotional neural networks. The importance of research into the mechanisms of prosocial behavior for the fully-fledged upbringing and education of children in the conditions of modern society is emphasized.
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Translated from Zhurnal Vysshei Nervnoi Deyatel’nosti imeni I. P. Pavlova, Vol. 73, No. 2, pp. 193–213, March–April, 2023.
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Pavlenko, V.B., Orekhova, L.S., Portugalskaya, A.A. et al. Establishment of Prosocial Behavior in Early Childhood and Its Neurophysiological Mechanisms. Neurosci Behav Physi 53, 1175–1189 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11055-023-01514-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11055-023-01514-5