New research performed at the University of Chicago suggests the
human brain is able to detect within a split second whether a
harmful action is intentional or accidental. The research,
performed by UChicago Professor Jean Decety and research
associate Stephanie Cacioppo, was published in a paper, “The
Speed of Morality: A High-Density Electrical Neuroimaging
Study,” on Dec. 1 in the Journal of Neurophysiology. According
to a news summary: The researchers studied adults who watched
videos of people who suffered accidental harm (such as being hit
with a golf club) and intentional harm (such as being struck
with a baseball bat). While watching the videos, brain activity
was collected with equipment that accurately maps responses in
different regions of the brain and importantly, the timing
between these regions. The technique is known as high-density,
event-related potentials technology. The intentional harm
sequence produced a response in the brain almost instantly. The
study showed that within 60 milliseconds