All optimists are the same, all pessimists are different, — research

Japanese neuroscientists have found in a new study, that brain activity optimistic people are very similar to each other. Meanwhile, neural patterns of less optimistic people are more diverse. 

Researchers led by Dr. Kuniaki Yanagisawa of Kobe University, note, that optimism may be a way for the brain to processes information and not just cheerful mood. Scientists conducted MRI brain scans on dozens of volunteers, measuring brain activity and tracking changes in blood flow. 

When participants entered the MRI machine, they were asked to reenact a series of future events, ranging from pleasant to extremely negative. They imagined, how these events would affect them and their loved ones. In addition, the volunteers filled out questionnaires to determine their level of optimism and pessimism. 

Japanese scientists focused on the medial prefrontal cortex of the frontal lobe of the brain. This area is associated with various cognitive and emotional functions, including social interaction and understanding the mental state of others. It is also a key node in the brain’s “passive mode network” — a system that is activated when we allow ourselves to procrastinate and let the brain wander, remembering the past and imagining the future. 

Comparing the complex patterns of activity in by examining the prefrontal cortex of different people, the researchers found, that in some of them, the brain draws very similar future scenarios, while in others, more individualized ones. The results of two separate studies showed, that the higher a person’s score on a standardized optimism survey, the more similar the patterns in the prefrontal cortex were to those of other optimists. 

The more pessimistic people had a rather peculiar way of imagining a gloomy future. Scientists observed a wide and varied range of brain activity in them.

It turned out, that optimism directly depends on how clearly the brain distinguishes between bad and good future scenarios. In the minds of optimists, the neural signature of a positive event is very different from the neural signature of a negative event. In other words, optimists process negative future scenarios in an abstract and detached way, which helps reduce the negative emotional impact of such scenarios. Meanwhile, optimists imagine positive events more concretely and live. 

Optimism is also associated with active social interaction and expanding the circle of social connections, as well as better relationships with other people. The results of the study indicate, that the brains of optimists are more harmoniously tuned. This allows optimists to communicate with others more easily and better and makes it easier to establish social connections.

However, this does not mean, that optimism is a good trait and pessimism — a bad trait. Pessimism can be useful in some cases, helping a person prepare for the future with negative scenarios in mind, while being overly optimistic can lead to overconfidence and negative consequences.

In addition, neither pessimism nor optimism is something unchangeable. They are constantly evolving throughout life and differ depending on cultural and ethnic backgrounds. According to Dr. Kuniaki Yanagisawa believes, that research can help us better understand, how people relate to each other and what sometimes hinders the rapport between them. Dr. Kuniaki Yanagisawa’s ultimate goal is to gain a deeper understanding of causes of loneliness and factors, that bring people together. 

The results of the study are published in the journal PNAS

Source: ZME Science