When two people are at odds, many regions of the brain involved in various cognitive functions come into play.
- When two people agree, their brains exhibit a synchronization of activities.
- During conflict, activity increases in the frontal lobes of the brain that house higher-order executive functions.
When two people are arguing, the brains start spinning and many regions are activated. This is what researchers from Yale University found in a study presented on January 13 in the journal Frontiers of Human Neuroscience. Conversely, when two people are in agreement, their brains exhibit a synchronization of activities centered on sensory areas.
The brain much more mobilized during an argument
Disagreement takes up a lot of space in the brain. By scanning the brains of two people during a discussion, the researchers discovered what happens there depending on the content of the discussion. “Our whole brain is a social processing networkdetails lead author Joy Hirsch. However, it just takes a lot more brains to disagree than to agree..”
The researchers recruited 38 adults whom they asked to debate on a series of topics such as same-sex marriage or the legalization of cannabis. After matching the pairs based on their responses, the researchers used an imaging technology called functional near-infrared spectroscopy to record their brain activity during the face-to-face discussions.
Agree people work like a musical duo
When people are in tune, brain activity is harmonious and tends to focus on sensory areas of the brain such as the visual system, presumably in response to their partner’s social cues. During conflict, these areas are less active and activity increases in the frontal lobes of the brain, which house higher-order executive functions. “There’s a synchronicity between brains when we agreenoted Joy Hirsch. But when we disagree, the neural coupling disconnects.”
Understanding how our brains work when disagreeing or agreeing is especially important, especially in today’s climate of ever-increasing political polarization. “In discord, two brains engage many emotional and cognitive resources like a symphony orchestra playing different musicpicture the researcher. In agreement, there is less cognitive engagement and more social interaction between speakers’ brains, similar to a musical duet.”
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