Human tears contain a substance that reduces aggression – study
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Human tears contain a substance that reduces aggression. Scientists suggest that this is the result of evolution, which is supposed to protect babies.
This was reported by The Guardian with reference to a study published in the scientific journal Plos Biology.
A group of scientists from Israel and the United States found that the smell of women’s tears reduced male aggression by more than 40% and caused certain changes in the brain.
To come to this conclusion, they collected the tears of six women who cried while watching sad movies. Then the scientists gave 31 men several times to smell either tears or saline solution. After that, they attached a tampon soaked in one of the two liquids to the upper lip of each of them.
| Human tears can reduce aggression and cause changes in the brain. Photo: chepko/Depositphotos |
Later, the men took part in a computer game, during which they were unfairly deducted points. This method is used in psychology to provoke aggression.
Aggressive behavior in the form of revenge was 43.7% lower in those men who smelled women’s tears. After scanning their brains, the scientists saw that these men had more functional connections between the areas responsible for smells and aggression. At the same time, the activity in the brain networks controlling aggression was lower.
During laboratory tests, scientists discovered that under the influence of tears, four types of receptors on olfactory neurons are activated. This suggests that it is they who can respond to a substance that reduces aggression.
Study co-author Noam Sobel noted that the chemicals in tears are unlikely to have much effect on social interaction in adults. However, the composition of tears may have evolved to protect infants.
“Babies can’t say, ‘Stop being aggressive with me.’ They are very limited in their ability to communicate and are helpless. Babies are interested in reducing the level of aggression in people, and this reflects our sad reality.” – he said.
Reducing aggression may be only one function of tears. Therefore, further research is needed.
Next, scientists plan to determine the active substance that is part of tears. Potentially, it could be used to reduce aggression.
It will be recalled that the study showed that the mother’s language affects the development of the child’s brain even before birth.
Read also: “Cute aggression” or why we want to pinch babies’ cheeks
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