Psychobiology: "What Happens When We Get Angry?"
by Medical News Today
"When we get angry, the heart rate, arterial tension and testosterone production increases, cortisol (the stress hormone) decreases, and the left hemisphere of the brain becomes more stimulated. This is indicated by a new investigation lead by scientists from the University of Valencia (UV) that analyses the changes in the brain's cardiovascular, hormonal and asymmetric activation response when we get angry. "Inducing emotions generates profound changes in the autonomous nervous system, which controls the cardiovascular response, and also in the endocrine system. In addition, changes in cerebral activity also occur, especially in the frontal and temporal lobes", Neus Herrero, main author of the study and researcher at UV, explains to SINC.
Nonetheless, "by focusing on the asymmetric brain activity of the frontal lobe that occurs when we experience emotions, there are two models that contradict the case of anger", the researcher highlights. The first model, 'of emotional valence', suggests that the left frontal region of the brain is involved in experiencing positive emotions, whilst the right is more related to negative emotions. The second model, 'of motivational direction', shows that the left frontal region is involved in experiencing emotions related to closeness, whilst the right is associated with the emotions that provoke withdrawal. The positive emotions, like happiness, are usually associated to a motivation of closeness, and the negative ones, like fear and sadness, are characterised by a motivation of withdrawal.
However, not all emotions behave in accordance with this connection. "The case of anger is unique because it is experienced as negative but, often, it evokes a motivation of closeness", the expert explains. "When experiencing anger, we have observed in our study an increase in right ear advantage, that indicates a greater activation of the left hemisphere, which supports the model of motivational direction", Herrero points out. In other words, when we get angry, our asymmetric cerebral response is measured by the motivation of closeness to the stimulus that causes us to be angry and not so much by the fact we consider this stimulus as negative: "Normally when we get angry we show a natural tendency to get closer to what made us angry to try to eliminate it", he concludes.
0 Response to "Psychobiology: "What Happens When We Get Angry?""
Post a Comment