Citation

Feldman R. Acta Paediatr. 2023; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/apa.16676

PMID

36655828

Abstract

Myths, drama, and sacred texts have warned against the fragile nature of human love; the closer the affiliative bond, the quicker it can turn into hatred, suggesting similarities in the neurobiological underpinnings of love and hatred. Here, I offer a theoretical account on the neurobiology of hatred based on our model on the biology of human attachments and its three foundations; the oxytocin system, the "affiliative brain", comprising the neural network sustaining attachment, and biobehavioral synchrony, the process by which humans create a coupled biology through coordinated action. These systems mature in mammals in the context of the mother-infant bond and then transfer to support life within social groups. During this transition, they partition to support affiliation and solidarity to one's group and fear and hatred toward out-group based on minor variations in social behavior. I present the Tools of Dialogue© intervention for outgroup members based on social synchrony. Applied to Israeli and Palestinian youth and implementing RCT, we measured social behavior, attitudes, hormones, and social brain response before and after the 8-session intervention. Youth receiving the intervention increased reciprocity and reduced hostile behavior toward outgroup, attenuated the neural marker of prejudice and increased neural empathic response, reduced cortisol and elevated oxytocin, and adapted attitudes of compromise. These neural changes predicted peacebuilding support 7 years later, when young adults can engage in civil responsibilities. Our intervention, the first to show long-term effects of inter-group intervention on brain and behavior, demonstrates how social synchrony can tilt the neurobiology of hatred toward the pole of affiliation.

Language: en