In a study published today by 'Frontiers in Human Neuroscience', researchers at the University of Pisa (Italy) led by Pietro Pietrini showed that forgiveness is associated with a positive emotional state and engages a complex brain network, including the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the cingulate cortex, the precuneus and the inferior parietal cortex.
Emiliano Ricciardi and colleagues used functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to measure brain activity while ten healthy volunteers were instructed to imagine social scenarios describing hurtful events (e.g., being betrayed by a partner) and then to either grant forgiveness or hold a grudge towards the offender. Following each scenario, subjects rated their imaging abilities as well as levels of emotional relief after forgiving.
The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex modulates emotion through cognitive strategies. The way we perceive an event and its potential consequences affects our emotional reaction to it. For example, we might view being fired as a personal failure or an unfair act or, on the contrary, as a challenge to look for a better job. Activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex suggests that a cognitive reframing in positive, or less negative, terms of the consequences of hurtful interpersonal events may be a crucial step in forgiving an offender.
Furthermore, activation in the inferior parietal cortex, a brain region consistently associated with empathy, and in the precuneus, an area important for putting oneself into other people's shoes,suggests that the ability to forgive might be fostered by the understanding that the offender is not different from the self, and that everyone may behave unfairly under the same circumstances.
"Throughout history, forgiveness has been endorsed by religions - If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also Luke 6:27-29 - and by political leaders as a morally righteous way to respond to an offense. Our study now indicates that forgiveness is rooted in our brain as a process that may enable individuals to overcome emotionally detrimental thinking through a positive reappraisal of a negative event" - says Professor Pietro Pietrini, the senior author of the study.
The study was supported by a Grant to Prof. Pietrini from the Campaign for Forgiveness Research - John Templeton Foundation (USA).
(Ufficio Stampa AOUP)