Even if you feel angry for a moment, such impulse can calm down in a short time. But if after a period of time, the anger still cannot stop and the angry situation continues, then you should think about: the prefrontal cortex, the brake in the brain responsible for suppressing anger, may not be really working. The secret behind unquenchable anger

The "prefrontal cortex" is located in the front of the brain and controls the most human parts such as sex, thinking, emotions, and desires. It is also the part of the human brain that is more developed than other animals. Even if they sense terror and danger, not everyone will attack each other. Because even though we feel angry or uncomfortable or angry, we can still suppress the urge to resist.

Generally speaking, even if you feel stressed and have some inner turmoil, the prefrontal cortex will judge that "you should not show such emotions now" and use willpower to control and suppress impulsive behaviors. . But if the prefrontal cortex degenerates, the following functions will not function smoothly:

Functions of the prefrontal cortex

?Thinking

?Control actions

?Communicate

?Making decisions

?Control emotions

?Control memory

?Concentrate awareness and attention

?Distract attention

However, human willpower, or the function of the prefrontal cortex, is not so trustworthy. No matter how strong a person feels that he or she can suppress anger through willpower, it is still something that can easily break down.

For example, lack of sleep or drinking alcohol will reduce the function of the frontal lobe, causing the judgment to become dull and the strong willpower to be unable to function. Lack of sleep or drinking alcohol will cause the function of the frontal lobe to decline (schematic diagram) Atrophy of the prefrontal cortex caused by aging

In addition to drinking alcohol and lack of sleep, the possible reasons for the deterioration of the function of the prefrontal cortex are In addition, it also includes poor physical condition, drug abuse and brain aging. Generally speaking, when brain aging is mentioned, it is associated with memory loss, but now it has been discovered that the prefrontal cortex shrinks due to aging earlier than the "hippocampus" that is responsible for memory.

In 1996, the United States long-term tracked and analyzed the brains of 3,301 healthy elderly people over 65 years old. The results found that as they grew older, the frontal lobe gradually began to shrink. When people in their 60s have just entered retirement age, the size of the frontal lobe is not much different from when they were young. However, after the age of 70, 30% of the subjects began to shrink, that is, the size of the frontal lobe and the Gaps gradually develop between other lobes, the left brain and the right brain.

Through this study, it was found that the frontal lobe is more susceptible to the effects of aging than other brain lobes. The frontal lobe is the part that controls emotions, such as suppressing anger, understanding the mood and thoughts of others, and deciding one's own actions. Sometimes, we see that as the term "raging old man" describes, some elders cannot control their emotions and actions. They often get angry over trivial matters and curse at the slightest displeasure. This is all due to the braking effect. Due to the atrophy of their frontal lobes, their ability to control emotions becomes worse, and their threshold for expressing emotions becomes lower. Why do people become more stubborn as they get older?

As some people get older, their originally stubborn personalities become even more stubborn. You may think that frontal lobe atrophy will cause changes in the originally unshakable personality, but this is not the case. Instead, the elderly will no longer be able to cooperate with others and understand things flexibly.

For example, they can no longer say "Don't say what you shouldn't say", or "Although I don't think so, there are all kinds of people in the world, so we might as well start with "Listen to what others say" and other behaviors that adjust your attitude to suit the current situation. Why do people become more stubborn as they get older? (Schematic diagram)

Seriously, this is also due to brain atrophy. The outer part of the prefrontal cortex is responsible for behavioral control or inhibition. As for "stubborn" behavior, it is related to the orbital prefrontal cortex and the inner part, and is a symptom caused by atrophy here.

Do you know about the "Pepsi Challenge" event? This was a tasting project launched in the United States in the 1970s and Japan in the 1980s. The organizer asked ordinary consumers to try Pepsi and Coca-Cola and compare them to see which one tastes better.

The two brands of Coca-Cola were prepared on site and consumers were asked to try them blindfolded. It was found that more people chose Pepsi-Cola; but if they were asked to choose after seeing the brand name, those who preferred Coca-Cola will become more. It was found that consumers are more likely to choose the brand than the taste of Coke.

But if an experiment similar to the "Pepsi Challenge" is conducted on people with damage to the orbital prefrontal cortex, more people will think "I just like the taste of Pepsi, it has nothing to do with the brand."

At first glance, these people seem to be very independent and independent of brands, but their brains are actually malfunctioning - they are unable to change their preferences in response to the conditions around them.

On the bright side, this means they won’t succumb to peer pressure; but on the other hand, it means they are inherently incapable of cooperating with their peers. In fact, being able to feel peer pressure represents sociality and is proof of high socialization. If you can't feel it, it means you don't care about the eyes around you, and you are more likely to do things that cause trouble to others.

For example, if you do something and someone stops you and say, "Hey, old gentleman, don't do such a shameful thing, others are watching", or you are told, "I used to care more about other people's opinions." "And so on, are all the effects of atrophy of the orbital prefrontal cortex.

"The older they get, the more stubborn they become" because they increasingly feel that even if they don't listen to others, there is nothing to be ashamed of; in other words, rather than saying that these people are obsessed with their own thinking, it is better to say that they listen. function becomes worse.

※The author of this article is Nobuko Nakano. The original text is authorized from "Disconnection of Reason: Don't be violent, don't hurt others, the most scientific way to be healthy and angry", provided by Jinji Publishing House.

Editor in charge/Peng Xingru? Picture/He Yiting