Rudeness Is a Neurotoxin
Posted: January 5, 2011 08:37 AM
- Chief of the Nervous System Development and Plasticity Section, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Americans are rude. I say this not to preach, which is neither my right nor my intention, but as a scientist, a developmental neuroscientist. My concern about American rudeness relates to my scientific research and knowledge about the development of the human brain. My conclusion comes from a recent trip to Japan, and from a reminder of times past, the death of actress Barbara Billingsley, who died Oct. 16, 2010.
Billingsley portrayed June Cleaver, the sympathetic and iconic, nurturing mother on the popular 1950s sitcom “Leave It to Beaver.” Remember her signature line? “Ward, I’m worried about the Beaver.” She confided her concern earnestly to her husband whenever their young son seemed the slightest bit distressed. The latest scientific research backs up with detailed molecular and cellular mechanisms what June Cleaver (and we) always knew intuitively, that through adolescence, the human brain is molded by the social environment in which a child is reared. A disrespectful, stressful social environment is a neurotoxin for the brain and psyche, and the scars are permanent.
One can debate how accurately television entertainment reflects reality, but there is no doubt that it represents the ideals of the time. Commercial art and entertainment always reflect and reinforce a society’s values, as the public buy it (literally) because they value it. There is no doubt that American society has changed dramatically with respect to manners and social discourse in a generation. The “Leave It to Beaver” model of American polite society in the 1950s and early 1960s is gone. Those black-and-white sitcoms have been supplanted today by garish reality television programs that showcase domestic and social interactions driven by narcissism, factionalism, competition and selfishness.
The contrast between the brash, comparatively disrespectful behavior of Americans today and the courtesy, formal manners, civil discourse, polite behavior and respect for others regardless of social status that is evident in Japanese society is striking. The contrast hits an American like a splash of cold water upon disembarking the airplane in Japan, because it clashes so starkly with our behavior. For an American, Japanese manners and courtesy must be experienced.
American children today are raised in an environment that is far more hostile than the environment that nurtured today’s adults. Children today are exposed to behaviors, profane language, hostilities and stress from which we adults, raised a generation ago, were carefully shielded. When I was a boy, there were no metal detectors at the entrance to my school. The idea was inconceivable, and there was indeed no need for them. Not so today. I wonder: how does this different environment affect brain development?
First it is helpful to consider, from a biological perspective, what “rudeness” is, so that we can consider what is lost when formal polite behaviors are cast away. People (and animals) living together in large numbers must develop strict formalized behaviors governing interactions between all individuals in the group, or there will be strife and chaos. In the natural world, as in the civilized world, it is stressful for individuals (people or animals) to interact with strangers, and also with other members of a working group and family members. As the size of the group increases, so do the number of interactions between individuals, thus raising the level of stress if not controlled by formal, stereotyped behavior, which in human society is called “manners.” The formal “Yes, Sir, Yes, Ma’am,” is not a showy embellishment in the military; strict respect and formal polite discourse are the hub of the wheel in any effective and cohesive social structure. True, many chafe under a system of behavior that is overly rigid, as do many young Japanese, but my point is that these polite and formalized behaviors reduce stress in a stressful situation that arises from being an individual in a complex society. Stress is a neurotoxin, especially during development of a child’s brain.
Studies have shown that children exposed to serious psychological trauma during childhood are at risk of suffering increased psychiatric disorders, including depression, anger, hostility, drug abuse, suicidal ideation, loneliness and even psychosis as adults. Using modern brain imaging, the physical damage to these children’s brain development can be seen as clearly as a bone fracture on an X-ray. Early-childhood sexual abuse, physical abuse and witnessing domestic violence undermine the normal wiring of brain circuits, especially those circuits connecting the left and right sides of the brain through a massive bundle of connections called the corpus callosum. Impairment in integrating information between right and left hemispheres is associated with increased risk of craving, drug abuse and dependence, and a weakened ability to make moral judgments.
(See my post Of Two Minds on Morality for new research on the corpus callosum and the ability to make moral judgments on http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-douglas-fields/of-two-minds-on-morality_b_738916.html)
A series of studies by a group of psychiatrists and brain imaging scientists lead by Martin Teicher, of Harvard Medical School, shows that even hostile words in the form of verbal abuse can cause these brain changes and enduring psychiatric risks for young adults. In a study published in 2006, the researchers showed that parental verbal abuse was more strongly associated with these detrimental effects on brain development than was parental physical abuse. In a new study published in the July issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry, they report that exposure to verbal abuse from peers is associated with elevated psychiatric symptoms and corpus callosum abnormalities. The main causes are stress hormones, changes in inhibitory neurotransmitters, and environmental experience affecting the formation of myelin electrical insulation on nerve fibers. The most sensitive period for verbal abuse from peers in impairing brain development was exposure during the middle school years. Why? Because this is the period of life when these connections are developing in the human brain, and wiring of the human brain is greatly influenced by environmental experience.
Unlike the brains of most animals, which are cast at birth, the human brain develops largely after we are born. The brain of a human infant is so feeble that human babies are helpless. Human infants cannot walk, visual perception is rudimentary, and cognitive abilities, likes and dislikes, talents and skills, and the ability to communicate by speech or through reading and writing do not develop fully until the completion of adolescence. Our brains are the product of the environment in which we are nurtured through the first two decades of life. Whether you are Mormon or Muslim or speak Spanish or French depends primarily on where you were born and raised. Our experience during childhood and adolescence determines the wiring of our brain so powerfully that even processing of sensory information is determined by our childhood environment. Whether or not we can hear eight notes in a musical scale or 12, or whether we find symmetry in art beautiful or boring, or whether we can hear the difference in sound of the English letter “R” vs. “L”, depends entirely upon whether our brains wired up during childhood in Western culture or Asian culture. The neural circuitry underlying those sensory perceptions is directed by what we experienced in early life, and these circuits cannot be rewired easily in the adult brain.
One can view the effects of environment on brain development with fatalism or with optimism. It is, however, the reason for human success on this planet. The fact that our brains develop after we are born rather than in the womb allows humans to adapt to changing environments. Biologically speaking, this increases the likelihood of success in reproducing in the environment we find ourselves rather than in the cave-man past coded through natural selection in our genes.
There were many other sitcoms of the 1950s and 1960s that portrayed politeness and manners as paramount in social and family interactions: “Ozzie and Harriet,” “Father Knows Best,” “The Donna Reed Show.” These are largely forgotten, but “Leave it to Beaver” thrived. It did so not as a commercial success for the ABC television network during its run from 1957 to 1963, but because of its enormous popularity in syndication, where it ran for decades in the late afternoon, watched with devotion by an audience of school children.
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-douglas-fields/rudeness-is-a-neurotoxin_b_765908.html#comments
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In their theoretical model, rudeness has this impact on our ability to think because it engenders negative sadness, anger. Researchers have found that common negative behaviours can spread easily and have significant consequences. The best way to avoid rude people is to meet their acts of rudeness with kindness. Exposure to neurotoxins in society is not new. Children today are raised in an environment that is much different from those days. Nowadays they are exposed to behaviours, profane language, hostilities and stress from which we adults, raised a generation ago. Studies have shown that children exposed to serious psychological trauma during childhood are at risk of suffering increased psychiatric disorders. Interesting read.
Thank you Rinpoche.
Studies have shown that rudeness spreads quickly and virally. Scientists have described it as a neurotoxin, and once infected by it we are more aggressive, and less creative .People exposed to rude behaviour tend to have concepts associated with rudeness activated in their minds. Exposure to rude behaviour clearly affects our mindset and the way we respond to rudeness. Exposure to neurotoxins in long run can be fatal in some cases. Not all people do completely recover after receiving treatment. More significantly, they themselves are more likely to behave rudely. Our brains are the product of the environment The rates of growth of specific brain regions are influenced by environment. Especially children when are exposed at an early childhood tends to be aggressive later on. Genetic and environmental factors work together to shape early brain development. Influences on development come from both heredity and environment. Many typical changes during childhood are related to maturation. Interesting read. Instead of being rude to others acknowledge people and express appreciation. Show empathy and sympathy is the best way to response rudeness with kindness.
Thank you Rinpoche for this sharing.
Today in our modern societies , we are raised and exposed to a disrespectful and more stressful social environment. All this is a neurotoxin for the brain and psyche on the whole. The environment is more hostile than those days we were brought up years back. When they are exposed to serious psychological trauma , they at a later stage are at risk of suffering increased psychiatric disorders. Brain researcher has confirmed the emotional damage of rudeness, of abuse will leads to a more serious damage and more problems will arise. If we can learn to choose action over reaction, and to replace rudeness with kindness and care will be good.
Thank you Rinpoche for this wonderful sharing
Scientific research has discovered that verbal abuse is more damaging to kids in the long run than physical abuse. The human brain is molded by the social environment. Rudeness can be considered a neurotoxin as it creates undue stress on the body. Scientific research has found stress can be very harmful and it could even increase the risk of chronic diseases to actually shrinking the brain. Human behaviour could be affected due to the rudeness. Stress and abuse are neurotoxins recording to the researcher and have a bad impact on children who witness spousal abuse. also encouraged negative interactions. Brain research confirms the physical as well as the emotional damage of rudeness and of abuse. When abuse that is not healed, tends to perpetuate itself and it will more harmful.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing
I found the article below has similarity to this article. Our minds have plasticity and we should try proven methods to transform it to become happier people.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/vanessaloder/2015/03/18/how-to-rewire-your-brain-for-happiness/#41c15de73cb3
This is an interesting. I know that our childhood do shape our adulthood but I did not know it literally has a “physical” impact in shaping our brains and hence how it functions which leads to how we think!
No wonder most psychotic killers/people have a really tragic, abusive, or negative childhood. Usually when we trace back to what kind of upbringing or childhood these criminals have, it’s usually not a healthy one.
“Studies have shown that children exposed to serious psychological trauma during childhood are at risk of suffering increased psychiatric disorders, including depression, anger, hostility, drug abuse, suicidal ideation, loneliness and even psychosis as adults.”
This makes a lot of sense because we can witness this happening more and more as our word generates and materialism plays such an important aspect of our lives. We see kids growing up feeling left out, alone and when their adult they tend to find happiness in the wrong places… drug abuse and suicidal ideation is one of the most common results.
About children being rude, it is definitely got to do with their childhood upbringing and the amount of discipline they got their parents for having a potty mouth. It also reminds me of a quote Rinpoche recently sent to us “Your Child Will Follow Your Example, Not Your Advice.” This is super scary especially if the child’s karma is such where by the negative traits are stronger than the positive. Yes I said “karma” because I do believe that our karma plays a big part of it. Why because at the end of the day it is our karma that we created, made us choose to be born in a family, to have horrible parents and experience a negative upbringing. And it will be our karma that will propel us to become negative ourselves or we beat the matrix and become the opposite, we become positive.
One great example is of course Rinpoche who came from a very weird, broken, abusive childhood, yet Rinpoche beat the odds and became a not just a positive adult, but someone who rise above it all by using the bad experience as a lesson never to do the same harm on to others and instead be of benefit, love and compassion towards others. Yes many people would say but but but Rinpoche is a ‘Tulku’, a ‘Bodhisattva’, a living ‘Buddha’, it is expected that Rinpoche rise above it all. Then what about Oprah and all the others who managed to turn it around? Karma? Perhaps it is so, which means it CAN be change and we have the choice to change it.
After reading this article, it reminds me I need to share more Dharma with my niece. It made me realise the importance of Dharma for our kids and that we need to share and add more spiritual values into our children’s life! Not when they are “older” as most parents would often think, but in actuality it should be now, when their brains are taking shape, when they are impressionable! All the kids in our Kechara Dharma class and YAK are so fortunate… we must continue to bring Dharma to the children!
Rudeness has been surfaced because the influence of the parents are not as positive any more. At the same time, the world is moving forward, forcing us to forget some of tour basic manners due to not enough time or other excuses that we can come up with. I do believe that if the parents of their young are strict and they enforce certain rules on them, they will grow up to be fine and well mannered people, benefiting the society in time. But with negative influences n the children, I do not dare to imagine what will happen to these children.
There is no doubt that rudeness has come into fashion over the last couple of decades (some say the changes started with the 60s revolution). Environment definitely has a huge part to play in the increasing lack of manners and I think perhaps this is due to the societal encouragement of “looking after Number One” (particularly in the West, though I don’t think it’s exclusive to the West).
Modern society has developed a deeper sense of self-importance within us. To put others before ourselves is a sign of weakness, to refuse to fight your way to power, status and material wealth means that you’re a loser: it’s survival of the fittest (misunderstood, of course).
With the insatiable desire to “beat the competition”, manners, compassion, consideration and kindness are bound to fall away. Sadly, so too does community, solidarity, a sense of common humanity and altruism. When we stop considering others as being just as real and as important as ourselves, it’s a slippery slope from there on in.
Especially with the advent of social network sites, there has evolved a “Youtube culture”, where people can be really rude and nasty and insensitive, safe in the knowledge that they are relatively anonymous behind their computer screen and usernames.
Having said that, the problem of rudeness seems to have always been around. Socrates complained that children were far too disobedient and rude to their parents and devilish – and that was over 2,500 years ago! Of course, no doubt the intensity of the problem has increased through time.
From my understanding, I think it’s definitely important to realise that our negative attitudes, though they may affect others around us, primarily affect ourselves and this is one of the main reasons why, as spiritual practitioners, we should really work on transforming those negative thoughts and attitudes when they arise. Even if one has no spiritual inclination, it would definitely serve as a positive to try and adopt a more positive mindset. Environments and external influences are no doubt major factors in the formation and development of our character, but there comes a point when we have no excuse: we each possess a critical mind and we ultimately choose how we act and react. As Dr. Fields points out, one difference that separates our brains from that of animals lies in the fact that we can adapt and change our minds. Of course, we can also choose not to do so…
Kind regards,
Sandy
Sandy, your comments were really well written. Thank you.
Dear Rinpoche,
Thank you for providing so many wonderful and thought-provoking posts on your blog. They are a pleasure to read.
Kind regards,
Sandy