When one human being attacks another, the usual thing is thatmirror neurons in the brain are activatedto put himself in the place of his adversary (empathy), “Feel his pain”, that way, prevent us from hurting him. In fact,empathy is considered the main inhibitor of violence. What’s more, neuroscientists say that normally we don’t even inflict harm on those around us because two specific areas of the brain – the anterior cingulate cortex and the insulaanticipate pain and feelings of social rejectionthat we suffer when we behave aggressively.
The downside is that some habits can “anesthetize” our ability to be empathetic and make us insensitive to the suffering of others. For example, a study from Columbia University (USA) published recently inPLoS ONErevealed that people who habituallywatch violent movies or play video gameswith an excess of aggressiveness they have the zones that suppress the aggressive behavior (the prefrontal cortex) less active. And all because seeing violence makes us more insensitive to our own aggressiveness.
On the other hand, it seems that not all brains work the same when it comes to violence. Michael Koemigs and his colleagues at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA) have identified thatpsychopaths have fewer connections between the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, responsible for empathy and guilt,and the amygdala, where fear and anxiety reside. This cerebral “short circuit” would imply a loss of the ability to regulate emotional behavior, and could explain theapparent “coldness”with which these subjects react to their own crimes.
