Researchers conducted a study of the human brain to find out why certain sounds are unpleasant and make us cringe.
Researchers conducted a study of the human brain to find out why certain sounds are unpleasant and make us cringe. Some of those sounds are nails scratching on a blackboard, screech of a knife against a glass bottle, which we are unable to take and just want the noise to stop.
The study showed that such sounds were found to be really unpleasant.
The MRI scans conducted while subjects heard these noises showed that such unpleasant noises increased blood flow in the brain's auditory cortex.
This area processes sounds as well as activates the amygdala, the area in the brain that takes care of our emotional responses.
"The new finding in this study is to precisely define the loop between the auditory cortex and the amygdala," the study's co-author, Tim Griffiths, said.
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