Thinking
positively is often good for brain health -- but a new study shows it's important to
proceed with caution.
Positive
thoughts seem to increase connections between regions of the brain in favorable
ways. But the study, published
in The Journal of Neuroscience, showed that optimism can also come with risks.
"We
were interested to show the science behind an old phenomenon, called the
optimism bias," said co-author, Dr. Bojana Kuzmanovic, Cognitive
neuroscientist at Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research, in an interview
with ABC News. "What we conclude and believe depends on what we want to
believe."
To see
how optimistic beliefs influenced their brain activity, researchers from
Germany and Switzerland looked at fMRI brain images and analyzed survey
responses using computer models from 24 self-described positive thinkers, 10
men and 14 women.
When
learning new information, these people were more likely to incorporate good
news than bad news into their overall belief systems. The good news increased
the activity in the reward region of the participants' brains. When the
participants rejected bad news, the same reward region also showed increased
activity. Plus, the reward regions of their brains increased connections to
other thought-processing, or cognitive, areas of their brains.
The
stronger the individual's original optimism bias was, the stronger the
connections were between the cognitive areas of their brains.
Although
increased activity in the reward centers and increased neural connections might
sound great, there was an important caution noted in the study.
The
optimism bias -- a thought process that leads people to believe that they are
less likely to run into a negative event than other people -- was strong. In
other words, optimistic people can believe "bad stuff only happens to
other people."
This
bias can have a strong unconscious influence, preventing people from taking
precautionary measures when making important decisions.
"Even
politicians making big decisions could be using this bias," said
Kuzmanovic. "It is important to consider an alternative viewpoint,
especially when you really care about the outcomes, and there is a lot at
stake."
There
are some other factors that researchers noted could have influenced the effects
on participant's brains. Some ideas could have been especially positive for
certain individuals because of their tastes or experiences and it's possible
that hearing good news directly after bad news made it even better.
Kuzmanovic
acknowledged that the implications of this phenomenon are not all bad. Previous
studies have shown that incorporating positive thoughts into beliefs can lead
to better cardiovascular health and an improvement in a person's overall
ability to cope with stress.
"People
do have positive value for their positive beliefs," said Kuzmanovic.
"It is just about being aware. These influences are present in all the
decisions we make, and may put us in danger of making biased decisions. When
making important decisions, we should consider collaborating with others to
understand different perspectives."
Richa
Kalra, M.D., is a resident physician specializing in psychiatry and working in
the ABC News Medical Unit.
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/positive-thinking-healthy-reality-checks-important-study/story?id=57150780
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