Why people blush: brain scans reveal an unexpected reason. Results of the study

Scientists have discovered the reason why people blush. The new data was obtained through brain scans.

The study suggests that a key factor in blushing is a greater sense of self-consciousness. That is, the feeling that we are being seen or exposed, rather than some cognitive calculations of what other people think of us, ScienceAlert writes.

Scientists managed to make a new discovery thanks to a group of 40 teenagers and 20-somethings who were forced to watch footage of themselves singing karaoke while lying in an MRI machine.

The explanation of the physiological reaction to redness is quite simple. It is a rush of blood to the face, which turns the cheeks red, and sometimes also the ears, neck, upper chest, and forehead.

The question of why someone blushes has been of interest for a long time. Is it shame or embarrassment because of a clumsy mistake, or is it a reaction to praise or a compliment?

In a new study, psychology expert Milika Nikolic from the University of Amsterdam and her colleagues tried to explain some of the questions about blushing by scanning the brains of karaoke singers, showing footage of them singing or other people singing.

Surprisingly, only a few studies have shown brain activity patterns of people who are made to feel embarrassed. And while experts have noticed physiological signs of increased arousal, none have measured blushing.

Nikolic and her colleagues found that the cheeks of female volunteers became hotter when they watched others sing.

Functional MRI (fMRI) scans of the brain were more revealing. It showed that redness activates brain areas involved in emotional arousal and attention. Whereas the areas involved in mentalization – that is, imagining or thinking about one's own or someone else's behavior, thoughts, or intentions - were "noticeably absent."

"These findings contribute to ongoing theoretical discussions about the nature of blushing and support the idea that higher-order social and cognitive processes may not be necessary for blushing to occur," concludes Nikolic.

However, the team of scientists emphasizes that their results should be "interpreted with due care" because the patterns of brain activity associated with mental processes "as complex as arousal, attention, and mentalization are not entirely different."

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