There are people who have a tendency to think and rethink episodes and experiences of their own lives, generally of a negative nature, the so-called “mental rumination”, a phenomenon that can trigger depressive and anxious reactions. The research was carried out on a group of adolescent girls who were exposed to a virtual experience of social rejection while being studied through functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the brain.
A technique that allows to “see live” the activation of individual brain areas. “High levels of psychological rumination were associated with a higher level of activity in areas such as the precuneus, a brain sorting center involved in processing information relevant to personal identity,” say the authors of the study.
The precuneus, along with other areas such as the medial prefrontal cortex and the posterior cingulate cortex, are regions that activate when one thinks about themselves, their experiences, and the reprocessing of memories. “We all experience rejection from others, but the experience is not the same for each of us,” says Amanda Guyer of the Center for Mind and Brain at the University of California, Davis, who coordinated the research.
Thinking and rethinking unfavorable events of one’s life is a risk factor for depression and anxiety, but also for substance use, eating disorders, and sleep disorders, especially during adolescence. Girls are more frequently subject to this type of phenomenon than boys, and it is this that is attributed as the main responsibility for the higher incidence of depression and anxiety in adolescent girls.
An important role in initiating rumination phenomena is played by rejection suffered by the peer group or even just verbal signals of social unacceptance, which is why the research coordinated by Amanda Guyer has simulated this kind of situations in the laboratory. “Adolescence especially involves for girls a particularly marked sensitivity towards social relationships, with an increase in emotions regarding the self and the relative risk of psychological rumination,” conclude the authors of the study.
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* February 3, 2024 (modification on February 3, 2024 | 08:00) © REPRODUCTION RESERVED