Brain gets a thrill from charity: study

We'd probably be extinct by now if this wasn't true.--Dictynna

By Julie Steenhuysen
Thu Jun 14, 5:10 PM ET

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Knowing your money is going to a good cause can activate some of the same pleasure centers in your brain as food and sex, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.

People who participated in a study got a charge knowing that their money went to a charity -- even when the contribution was mandatory, like a tax. They felt even better when they voluntarily made a donation, researchers found.