When we think of himfutureHuman beings expect to live long and be more successful than average, and we underestimate our chances of facing a divorce lawsuit or suffering from cancer. A team of researchers from the University of New York has just identified the area of the brain where it residesnatural tendency to optimism. It is a network of neurons located in theanterior cingulate cortexand theamygdala. As exposed today in the magazineNatureThis region is precisely the one that is disturbed when we suffer from depression.
The researchers came to this conclusion after studying the brains of eighteen volunteers with the help of functional magnetic resonance imaging while imagining themselves in hypothetical situations such as winning a prize or ending a love relationship. “Studies suggest that while our past is restricted, the future is open to interpretation, allowing us to distance ourselves from potential negative events and move toward positive ones,” explains Elizabeth Phelps, professor of psychology and co-author of the research. “Understanding optimism is critical because it is related to ourphysical and mental health; thepessimism, on the contrary, it is linked to thedepression“, Add.
In view of the results, the Australian neurophysiologist Marcello Costa considers that this work reduces the traditional separation between brain and mind. In the current context, says Costa, the latest research confirms the essential role that emotional tendencies play in our “everyday mental life“as it has been shown that” apparently different states such as self-reflection, hopes and dreams, our preferences and judgments about the honesty of others are associated with the same brain regions: the frontal cortex and the amygdala. ” However, recalls the researcher, locating trends such as optimism or pessimism in specific regions of the brain is only the first step to understand how our thinking organ really works.
Nature (http://www.nature.com/)
