Unraveling the Neurocognitive Mechanisms of Delayed Punishment in Second-and Third-Party Contexts

Abstract Second-party punishment (SPP) and third-party punishment (TPP) are essential in regulating social behavior and maintaining social norms, yet the effectiveness may wane when punishment is delayed. Currently, the decision-making and neural mechanisms underlying SPP and TPP under temporal delays remain largely unexplored. This study investigated both SPP and TPP punishment decisions with time-delay (immediate vs. delayed) using a hypothetical criminal scenario assessment task with fMRI. Results showed increased activity in the bilateral precuneus and left temporoparietal junction (TPJ) and stronger left TPJ-dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) connectivity in SPP compared to TPP. Interestingly, third-parties imposed more severe punishment in delayed conditions than in immediate ones, accompanied by enhanced neural activity in dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), left TPJ, ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC), ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), and caudate nucleus. This delay effect was evident only in misdemeanor and felony cases, with no differences in capital offenses, suggesting a moderating effect of criminal severity. In contrast, SPP showed no significant changes in punishment or neural response across immediate and delayed conditions. Multivariate pattern analysis further indicated that dmPFC, TPJ, vlPFC, vmPFC and caudate function together to encode punishment severity in TPP contexts, a pattern not observed in SPP. These findings underscore distinct decision-making mechanisms between SPP and TPP under temporal delays, with implications for understanding justice-related processing in the human brain under time constraints. Significance statement Within the justice system, punishing norm violators is often hindered when they flee, resulting in delayed punishments. However, little is known about how second-party (SPP) and third-party (TPP) implement punishment with time delays. The current study investigated this using real criminal scenarios with time delays under fMRI scanning. We found that third parties imposed more severe punishment on defendants in delayed conditions than in immediate ones, reflected by enhanced neural activity in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, left temporoparietal junction, ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and caudate nucleus. In contrast, no significant differences were observed in second-party punishment. We also found a moderating effect of criminal severity: the difference between immediate and delayed sanctions by third-parties was present in misdemeanor and felony cases but not in capital offenses. These results shed light on the decision-making mechanisms of SPP and TPP in contexts involving temporal delay, which may have deep impact in different disciplines, e.g., social science, cognitive neuroscience and legal system.