Editorial: Moral emotions scrutinized: developmental, clinical and neuroscientific aspects

emotions are supported by distributed brain networks integrating cognitive, social, and affective processes. According to the event-feature-emotion complexes (EFEC) model, moral emotion generation depends on the interaction between prefrontal regions, temporal areas, and limbic structures, which together support context-dependent evaluation, social knowledge representation, and affective responses (Moll et al., 2008). Consistent with this framework, neuroimaging studies have identified a network including the medial prefrontal cortex, temporo-parietal junction, anterior temporal lobes, and limbic regions as central to moral cognition (Bzdok et al., 2012;Eres et al., 2017;Saccardo et al., 2026). Crucially, recent meta-analytic evidence provides a more fine-grained characterization of the neural architecture underlying self-conscious moral emotions. A voxel-based meta-analysis by Piretti et al. (2023) shows that both shame/embarrassment and guilt share a common neural substrate centered on the left anterior insula, a region implicated in emotional awareness, interoception, and arousal processing. However, the two emotions diverge in their specific neural signatures.From a neurocognitive perspective, moral emotions appear to rely on both shared and partially distinct neural systems. While a common core involving interoceptive and evaluative processescentered on regions such as the anterior insula-supports the subjective awareness of self-conscious emotions, different moral emotions engage specialized networks that reflect their functional roles. For instance, guilt is more strongly associated with regions implicated in perspective-taking and social cognition (e.g., temporo-parietal junction), whereas shame and embarrassment preferentially recruit circuits linked to social pain and behavioral inhibition, including the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, thalamus, and premotor regions. In contrast, positive moral emotions such as pride have been associated with reward-related and self-referential networks, suggesting a role in reinforcing socially valued behaviors. This functional differentiation points to a broader organizational principle: moral emotions implement distinct action tendencies through partially dissociable neural pathways. Guilt tends to promote reparative and prosocial behaviors, shame and embarrassment favor withdrawal and inhibition, and pride supports approach and social reinforcement. In particular, the neural profile of shame-overlapping with circuits involved in social pain-supports the view that it acts as a signal of threatened social belonging, triggering adaptive reductions in social exposure (Eisenberger, 2012;MacDonald and Leary, 2005). Within this framework, shame can be conceptualized as a neurocognitive mechanism that contributes to the regulation of social behavior by constraining norm violations (Grecucci et al., 2021;Piretti et al., 2023). Importantly, these distinctions are not merely descriptive but reflect different computational roles within social cognition. Moral emotions collectively contribute to maintaining social cohesion by balancing complementary functions: promoting repair (guilt), reinforcing valued behavior (pride), and inhibiting socially undesirable actions (shame and embarrassment). Despite growing evidence, however, the field still lacks an integrated account linking these neural mechanisms to developmental trajectories and clinical outcomes. Advancing such integrative models remains a key challenge for understanding the role of moral emotions in both adaptive functioning and psychopathology.Moral emotions, such as shame, guilt, and pride, serve as essential barometers for navigating complex social environments. These emotions emerge from the integration of cognitive, social, personality, and physiological processes and play a crucial role in shaping social understanding from early childhood to adulthood. However, despite their centrality, their developmental trajectories, neurobiological underpinnings, and clinical implications remain only partially understood.This Research Topic aims to promote a multidisciplinary scientific dialogue on the nature and complexity of moral emotions. By bringing together contributions from developmental psychology, clinical science, and neuroscience, the goal is to elucidate how moral emotions develop across the lifespan, how they are instantiated in the brain, and how they interact with broader cognitive and social processes.The contributions included in this issue address a range of key questions, including the developmental trajectories of moral emotions, their role in psychological well-being and mental health, and their interaction with other cognitive and social functions. By integrating these perspectives, this Research Topic seeks to advance a more comprehensive and unified understanding of moral emotions and their role in human behavior.