Clustering of independent components of EEG in determining individual characteristics of reactions related to a moral choice

Moral judgment can be defined as the evaluation of actions with respect to norms and values established in a society. In the modern world, morality is considered as the social capital, which determines a level of society well-being. Participants were showed 24 moral dilemma and 24 control task vignettes represented artist-sketched cartoons of control and dilemma scenarios. For all participants and every experimental condition, the model of localization equivalent dipoles electroencephalogram (EEG) components was made. Individual localization of EEG electrodes was matched with a model of localization of electrodes of head, which was used for determining the equivalent dipoles. Event-related spectral perturbations were calculated to estimate induced responses via the EEGLAB toolbox. The dataset was prepared for clustering by the original PCA method. The correction for multiple comparisons was made by the False Discovery Rate method. To determine the correlations cortical sources of EEG activity with Social Intellect, sLORETA was applied to the data. Differences between moral dilemmas and control tasks without moral choice were found in delta, theta, alpha and beta diapasons in clusters localized in temporal and frontal lobe. Social intellect positively correlated with difference between the test interval and the baseline during making moral dilemma choice in theta in the left middle temporal gyrus and beta in the left middle frontal gyrus.