#30DaysOfScikuChallenge
Thank You with Gratitude
Day 30 Prompt: A Prosocial Science Inspired Sciku
Smile + Gratitude ACC and prefrontal cortex supports Community Grows
At the tail end of 2020, we invited you to join us and play with science-inspired haiku style poetry(#30daysofscikuchallenge), and you responded — we have had a lot of fun combining science and haiku inspired poetry prompts to explain cool research findings.
We hope this is a good start for your continued exploration of creative ways to engage with the world — science and soul are, after all, best expressed together, and we are filled with gratitude — so for the final prompt — dear readers, we invite you to explore the science of gratitude.
Humans are above all social beings, and gratitude is a social-moral emotion known to play a crucial role in our success as cooperative species. For many years, scientists have tried to understand the neural correlates of gratitude. While the neurocognitive processes that lead to feelings of gratitude — remain largely unknown, there are some clues.
For instance, researchers have identified a brain network that gives rise to gratitude feelings — specifically, the medial prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) as brain regions associated with gratefulness. The prefrontal cortex is the seat of decision making, and the ACC is sometimes referred to as an integrative hub for human socially-driven interactions.
Also, in a 2017 study, researchers compared functional magnetic resonance imaging and heart rate data before, during, and after “gratitude and resentment interventions” and found evidence of the neurobiological consequences of gratitude — When gratitude was expressed, the average heart rate was lower than during moments of resentment. Perhaps giving a new meaning to — “heartfelt gratitude.”
Furthermore, another study reported that participants who were thanked were more willing to go the extra mile in the future. When it comes to prosocial behavior, feeling valued may even be more important than feeling competent.
“We propose that gratitude expressions can enhance prosocial behavior through both agentic and communal mechanisms, such that when helpers are thanked for their efforts, they experience stronger feelings of self-efficacy and social worth, which motivate them to engage in prosocial behavior.” Source : Grant and Gino
All that to convey — A sincere Thank You — from our brain to yours — we are very grateful for your continued support of our new publication. We hope you have enjoyed the #30daysofScikuChallenge and hope to bring you an engaging series of science-inspired stories with ideas for living well — stay tuned!
Thank you for reading!
With much gratitude, Your Science & Soul Team.
**This is Day 30 of the #sciku challenge — science-inspired haiku-like poetry( so #sciku?) prompts to get you inspired — Our dear readers — why not spend some time each day creating and having a little fun — if you do — publish it anywhere on medium, just tag it with — #30DaysOfScikuChallenge.
*Tagging Lynn E. O’Connor, Ph.D., Laura Griffith Machado, PsyD Rita Hitching, ASeiler, ScienceDuuude, John Levin, Melissa Gouty, Adelia Ritchie, PhD, antoinette nevitt, Lucy The Eggcademic (she/her), Synthia Satkuna, Dr. Marina Harris Cooking at Home Terry Mansfield Darrin Atkins Elena Sunshine Magazine Jen Eve Jenine Bsharah Baines Susannah MacKinnie Shin Jie Yong Louis Dennis Dr. Fatima Imam Dr. Jackie Greenwood Cody James Howell PhD (Raiden) Genius Turner Rochelle Silva and anyone else who read, smiled, whispered, clapped, played along and/or commented on the #30DaysOfScikuChallenge — Thank you for your support!
What to read next? How about:
Or Perhaps check this one :
Or this next one from Thomas Christopher
