Why are certain people more altruistic than others? New research reveals that some of the answers may be found directly in the brain, in the systems that regulate social learning. ‘Nature Neuroscience’ published the study, which was coordinated by researchers from the University of Milan's Rodolfo Paoletti Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, in partnership with the CNR Institute of Neuroscience, IRCCS Humanitas, and Université Côte d'Azur. According to the research, witnessing others can help you develop sharing and cooperative habits. Individuals quickly learn the relationship between action and consequences in the experimental models examined, without the requirement for direct experience, not only in risky circumstances but also in pleasant experiences. As a result, they display a versatile and adaptable aptitude for social learning. Animals that are observed do more than just imitate: they grasp the repercussions of their actions and can alter their behavior even when the context changes. This suggests that observation produces a more complicated type of learning than simple copying, which is based on correlations between action and benefit to others. The role of the hippocampus, specifically its dorsal area (dCA1), has been shown to be critical for this form of social learning. When activity in this area changes during observation, the ability to acquire social behaviors decreases, although memory and basic motor skills remain intact. Even more crucial is the fact that not all people react the same way: the same experience produces considerable variances, with some being more prosocial and others being more selfish. During observation, these differences manifest as distinct patterns of neuronal activation in the hippocampus. The findings also show that this mechanism is plastic: by adjusting the activity of the dCA1, individuals can change their future decisions, making them more likely to share or, conversely, more inclined to selfish actions.