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4h ago

Bullying Scenes Prompt Instant Brain and Body Alarm Across Ages, Study Finds

Brain scans with pupil measures during first-person bullying videos showed rapid activation of distress circuits and autonomic threat responses.

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The researchers also discovered that these neural responses and alarm states were linked to viewers having previous real-life experiences being victims of bullying. Credit: Neuroscience News

Overview

  • Researchers at the University of Turku led by Birgitta Paranko and Lauri Nummenmaa tested tweens aged 11–14 and adults viewing first-person bullying versus positive social interactions.
  • Bullying footage increased activity in social and emotional brain networks, and autonomic arousal rose within seconds.
  • Independent eye-tracking and pupil-size data in a separate adult group confirmed heightened attention and emotional arousal to bullying scenes.
  • Participants with real-life histories of being bullied exhibited stronger neural alarm responses than those without such experiences.
  • The peer-reviewed findings were published September 22, 2025 in the Journal of Neuroscience (DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0738-25.2025), and the authors caution that persistent alarm states threaten mental and physical health.