Scientists Identify Brain's 'Hate Circuit'

Scientists Identify Brain's 'Hate Circuit'

news.yahoo.com

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 29 (HealthDay News) -- British researchers say they've identified a "hate circuit" in the brain. This hate circuit shares part of the brain associated with aggression, but is distinct from areas related to emotions such as fear, threat, and danger, said researchers Professor Semir Zeki and John Romaya, of University College London's laboratory of neurobiology.

The study was published online Oct. 29 in the journal PLoS One. "Hate is often considered to be an evil passion that should, in a better world, be tamed, controlled, and eradicated," Zeki said in a journal news release. "Yet to the biologist, hate is a passion that is of equal interest to love. Like love, it is often seemingly irrational and can lead individuals to heroic and evil deeds. How can two opposite sentiments lead to the same behavior?"

In this study, 17 female and male volunteers underwent brain scans while they looked at photos of a person they hated, along with photos of a "neutral" person. Looking at images of hated people triggered activity in an area that includes structures in the cortex and in the sub-cortex as well as components that generate aggressive behavior and translate it into action.

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[edit on 29-10-2008 by DimensionalDetective]

[edit on 29-10-2008 by DimensionalDetective]

Oh boy...

Part of me initially thought, "this is potentially one of the most important discoveries ever", particularly in these modern times where hate and intolerance to one another seems to be escalating at a frightening pace.

Then the conspiracy-theorist in me thought about what this could lead to...

"Anti-Hate drug" / Brain experimentation protocols for those determined to be fitting the profile of this type of cortex activity?

Not sure. Half of me thinks its great to identify such a region, but the other half of me hopes this doesn't lead to radical measures...

Thoughts?

news.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 29-10-2008 by DimensionalDetective]

Far more likely then making an anti-hate drug will be a drug or treatment that enhances hate or directs it towards a certain target. Imagine if soldiers hated their enemies with all their hearts. What acts would such a man be capable of?

reply to post by DimensionalDetective


I had the exact same reaction as you just posted, DD. My first thought was the Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror episode where Homer gets the monkey's paw and Lisa takes the final wish on it and wishes for world peace and everyone to love each other. The aliens arrive to take over and dominate the species which can suddenly respond with nothing but offers of peace and love. Ned Flanders gets the paw and wishes for something to be done about the aliens and suddenly someone (Moe, I believe) finds a board with a nail in it and uses it against Kang & Kodos, chasing them away from Earth.

I also think about the movie Zardoz where a segment of the population has *ahem* "evolved" (if you can call it that) beyond normal human interaction, including anger, hate, and even physical love. They consider the unevolved humans to be barbarians, but all it takes is for one barbarian (Sean Connery) to get inside their compound and suddenly all holy hell is unleashed and the supposedly evolved humans are completely destroyed thanks to their inabillity to defend themselves. (Obviously there are alot of other things going on in that movie, like the issue of the collective dying out because they don't reproduce normally, but the gist is similar.)

...Hell, I also, also am left thinking about the Kubrick film "A Clockwork Orange." After Alex is "cured" of his anger and hatred he basically becomes a doormat for the powers that be and anyone else wishing to take a pot shot at him.

It's all pretty scary to imagine that one day they may find a way to neutralize any part of our brain, particularly a part that, in essence, is a portion of what makes us so uniquely human. It becomes even scarier when you dare to wonder what the results would be if only a part of the population recieved this neutralization. That neutralized group would almost certainly become pawns and, in effect, toys for the portion that still has all their humanly faculties.

Finally, this post has also made me think of one last thing... I've seen waaayyy too much TV and watched waaayyy to many old movies for a guy in his very early 30's.