Please Don't Sneak Up On Me!

Sometimes I wonder, "Who thought up the idea to study this, and why?" Consider research done by Dimitri Bayle and associates, reported in the online publication, http://www.plosone.org/, published by the Public Library of Science.

Maybe as a small child Dimitri was scared by his big brother trying to sneak up on him. I have no reason to doubt his findings, I am just not sure what to do with it now that I know it. I guess that some things just need to be filed under, "That's interesting."

Dimitri scanned participants' brains using magnetoencephalography (MEG) while showing them faces either straight ahead or in the periphery (out of the "corner" of the eye), and measured how quickly they determined if a face was scary. Their findings?

A "peripherally presented fearful face was followed by increased activation in the right anterior fronto-medial region - including the famous amygdala - within just 130ms. By contrast, a fearful face presented straight on triggered activity in these emotional-processing centres only after 210ms."

Researchers suggest the reason for this ability to more quickly process a scary face seen in the periphery lies in the basic need to survive. Potential predators don't usually come at us straight on. They sneak up on us. The more quickly we recogize the threat, the greater our odds of escaping it.

I do know that a few months ago I stumbled upon a spider the size of Aragog (see Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets if that doesn't mean anything to you). He was right in front of me but my brain's right anteior fronto-medial region fired in just 130ms!