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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

The brain area that lights up in prickly people

Those who are quick to take offence show similar levels of activity in a region of the brain that’s crucial for decision-making.
Coloured 3D magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of a healthy human brain.

A region of the brain (artificially coloured) called the left ventromedial prefrontal cortex shows similar activity levels in people who are quick to take offense. Credit: K H Fung/SPL

Some people interpret bumping shoulders with a stranger in a crowd as innocuous, whereas others see it as a hostile act by the other party. Now scientists have worked out how the brain reflects that tendency to assume malevolence in others’ intentions, called hostile attribution bias1.

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Nature 626, 459 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-00318-y

References

  1. Lyu, Y., Su, Z., Neumann, D., Meidenbauer, K. L. & Leong, Y. C. J. Neurosci. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1252-23.2024 (2024).

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