Your Brain and the Emotion: Hate

Hate…such a strong emotion and the emotion used most when we try to understand atrocious human behavior – wars, hate crimes, vengeance, etc. – or when trying to find the right word to convey how you feel when words like angry, frustrated, or annoyed doesn’t really fit the moment. We tend use the word “hate” in our daily colloquial speech to the point where it seems so common place, until it reaches beyond our moral code, and then it becomes something entirely different. What do I mean by this? Have you ever caught yourself uttering, “Ugh, I hate traffic!” or “Argh, I really hate that guy!”? I know I tend to use that word entirely too loosely when other emotions apply, but did you ever wonder why some people act upon their hate or where the emotion of hate originates?  I’m one to argue that “hate” is a learned behavior, but according to a new study published recently on PLoS One, it also lies within our brains. Hate has been linked to sections of the human brain known as the cortex, the sub-cortex, the putamen, and the insula – forming what British researchers call, the ‘hate circuit’. The ‘hate circuit’, according to the study, is associated with the aggression portion of our brains, but is separate from the areas indicating fear, threat, or danger and leads many of us to act upon our initial reactions connected with the emotion of hate.  It also taps into the frontal cortex, a section of our brain that is believed to help us anticipate the actions of others.  This anticipation gives you the advantage when facing or confronting the person you hate, according to researchers. Ironically, the sections identified (frontal cortex, sub-cortex + putamen and insula) as the central location where hate is conceived within our brains is also the same area that prompts romantic love.  Hate, like love, is irrational and can lead people to either act heroically or to become completely twisted – weird how that works...Another interesting factoid mentioned in the study, is that the amount of activity in these locations of the brain increased with the intensity to which the person declared their hate of another individual.  So how does the study work? Those who took part in the study (17 men and women) were shown pictures of those they stated as someone they hated and a “neutral” individual.  The researchers then measured the brain wave activity taking place while the series of images where shown and noticed that the most activity took place when the subject viewed the hated person’s photo.  Pretty crazy, if you ask me…the brain never ceases to amaze me.  However, the study still doesn’t answer my question of where hate originates, mostly it shows the how and why we are affected by hate, but not where the emotion begins.  Even though the study doesn’t answer the question of where hate originates, it is still incredibly interesting and leaves one to ponder about the power held within our minds.

Comments

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Even though the study doesn’t answer the question of where hate originates, it is still incredibly interesting and leaves one to ponder about the power held within our minds.

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This anticipation gives you the advantage when facing or confronting the person you hate, according to researchers. Ironically, the sections identified (frontal cortex, sub-cortex + putamen and insula) as the central location where hate is conceived within our brains is also the same area that prompts romantic love.

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