Love and hate
For the first time, scientists were able to identify areas of the brain that are activated at the sight of an image of someone whom a person hates - as it turned out, these areas do not coincide with the zones of fear, danger and threat, although they partially overlap with the zone of aggression. The results of the study are published in the journal PLoS ONE.The authors of the article, Professor Semir Zeki (Semir Zeki) and John Romaya (John Romaya) from University College London had previously studied the processes in the brain during the period of romantic love and decided to continue working by studying opposite feelings.
"Hatred is often seen as a bad passion that needs to be mitigated, brought under control and eradicated. However, for biologists, hatred is just as interesting as love. Like love, it often looks irrational and can lead people to both heroic and evil deeds. How can two opposite feelings lead to similar behavior?" Professor Zeki asks.
Scientists have studied feelings of hatred directed at other people. The experiment involved 17 volunteers, men and women. The subjects' brain activity was measured while they were looking at photos of people they hate, or just acquaintances. As a result, scientists were able to obtain a set of brain regions associated with feelings of hatred.
As it turned out, they include the structures of the cortex and subcortex of the brain associated with aggressive behavior, coordination of movements. Areas of the frontal lobes of the brain, important for the ability to predict the actions of other people, were also associated with the feeling of hatred.
When experiencing feelings of hatred, the so-called shell and insular lobe of the large brain were also activated, which, as Zeki notes, are also active when a person experiences a romantic crush.
Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru according to the materials of RIA Novosti
30.10.2008