2023 Author: Bryan Walter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 22:24
Canadian scientists conducted an fMRI experiment, during which they asked participants to get used to the role of Romeo or Juliet, and found that this changes the activity of the brain regions that are responsible for the perception of their own "I". The article was published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.
Depending on the situation, a person can enter into different roles, changing their behavior: for example, communicating with colleagues or classmates is different from communicating with close friends and family. These roles, however, still constitute the boundary of one person's self. Another thing concerns the roles that actors play on stage or screen: in this situation, the extent to which a person can move away from his own sense of himself and get used to the role usually shows his skill. At the same time, it is not clear whether the erasure of the boundaries of one's own “I” occurs only externally, that is, in the behavioral aspect, or whether the differences are visible even in the work of the brain.
It was decided by Canadian scientists from McMaster University under the leadership of Steven Brown to figure this out. Their study involved 15 students studying theater arts at a university. During the scan, they had to answer (to themselves) a few questions like, "If you fell in love with someone, would you tell your parents about it?" or "Would you come to a party you weren't invited to?"
Participants gave answers either from their own point of view, or from the point of view of a close friend or other person they know, as well as from their own point of view, but speaking the answer to themselves with a British accent. Finally, in the last condition, the participants had to answer the question as the main characters of the tragedy of William Shakespeare “Romeo and Juliet” would answer: for this, the participants were asked to get into the role of characters of their own sex, recalling the second scene of the second act of the tragedy (the scene on the balcony).
Each of the conditions used in the experiment has different boundaries of the ability to put oneself in the place of oneself and another person. Scientists needed to study the activity of the brain in the case when the actor needs to get used to the role of the character, which is why this activity was compared with that which appears when the participants answer questions the way they would answer themselves. In this case, the activity of the brain, which is observed in the case when the participant gets used to the role of his acquaintance or uses a different accent, is used as a control.
Scientists found that entering the role of Romeo or Juliet during the experiment greatly reduced the activation in the frontal lobes of the participants and increased it in the pre-wedge area: the considered areas are responsible for the process of determining the boundaries of their own body, thoughts, feelings and memories.
Increased (orange) and decreased (blue) activation of brain regions in various conditions
Based on the results obtained, scientists have concluded that entering the role of a character for an actor changes the boundaries of their own "I", which, apparently, helps them to better get used to the role. The increased activation of the pre-wedge, in turn, the scientists explain by the fact that entering the role does not imply a complete departure from the boundaries of oneself (apparently, this is impossible), but, as it were, supplements them with another personality, which is why this site needs to reduce participation in the process of the person's own personality and enhance the participation of the character's personality.
In fMRI experiments, participants are often asked to do the weirdest tasks. One of the strangest such experiments can be called the one in which the crocodile was given to listen to Bach, we wrote about this last year.
