Bullies really DO enjoy picking on people: Behaving aggressively gives them same pleasure as eating chocolate does in others
- Scientists have linked bullying to the ‘reward circuits’ in the brain
- Found aggressive behaviour activates part of brain making it pleasurable
- But this could be manipulated to alter the inclination to stop or enhance it
Kate Pickles For Mailonline
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It’s something the victims of school bullies have long suspected.
Now research has revealed bullies really do pick on people because they enjoy it – like others do chocolate or a glass of wine.
Scientists have linked bullying behaviour to ‘reward circuits’ in the brain that make certain activities pleasurable.
However, they were also able manipulate the part of the brain to alter the inclination – either to engage in or avoid the opportunity to bully.
Bullying people can be pleasurable for some people scientists have discovered after linking the behaviour to the reward circuits in the brain (file image)
Many causes of childhood bullying have been proposed, including abuse or mistreatment at home, poor self-esteem and finding an outlet for inner anger.
But the new findings suggest that at least some bullies bully because of the sadistic pleasure it gives them.
The scientists studied brain activity in adult male mice that displayed aggressive behaviour towards younger subordinate animals.
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They found evidence that for ‘bully’ mice, the ability to dominate and subdue their victims was rewarding.
Lead researcher Dr Scott Russo, from Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, said: ‘Our study is the first to demonstrate that bullying behaviour activates a primary brain reward circuit that makes it pleasurable to a subset of individuals.
‘Furthermore, we show that manipulating activity in this circuit alters the activity of brain cells and ultimately, aggression behaviour.’
Bullying was associated with heightened activity of neurons in the basal forebrain that release an inhibitory neurochemical called gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA).
This had the effect of reducing activity in another brain area that would normally dampen down aggression.
When the brain activity was artificially altered, aggressive mice became docile and ‘no longer showed bullying behaviour’, Dr Russo said.
The research was published in the journal Nature.
Scientists were able to manipulate the brain’s reward centre to alter the inclination – either to engage in or avoid the opportunity to bully
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