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In this post, we explore what science has discovered about how courage works in the brain. Your courage brain circuitry is already there, just waiting for you to put it to use. This exciting research wasn\u2019t done on mice or rabbits, but on vulnerable humans like you and me; humans who fear hurt, judgment, and rejection, and who often need to make difficult choices.<\/p>\n
To understand how courage works in the brain, we draw on research in neuroplasticity (the brain\u2019s ability to grow and change), exposure therapy, habituation, and on brain imaging. Increasingly, science is confirming that courage can be learned as a skill. It is a choice to be made.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s already strong evidence that the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) acts as our brain\u2019s decision-making centre; the amygdala generates fear, and the anterior cingulate gyrus (ACG) is our seat of empathy. Here, we\u2019ll focus on a 2010 brain-imaging study by Nili, Goldberg, Weizman, and Dudai called \u201cFear thou not: activity of frontal and temporal circuits in moments of real-life courage.\u201d (Neuron<\/em> 66, no. 6). This study adds to our understanding by essentially mapping out some of courage-specific brain networks. It\u2019s a snake study. It involved participants who could barely tolerate hearing the word \u201csnake\u201d (I may be exaggerating, but only slightly).<\/p>\n \u00a0The snake and the scanner<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0Imagine you’re lying in a brain scanner, a functional MRI machine that measures blood flow to areas of your brain. A live, 1.5-meter snake lies on a movable trolley nearby. It wakes up and moves. It eyes you. You eye it back. Your task is to move the snake closer and closer to your head. You can push it away at any time, no judgment, experiment over, thanks for your time. But you\u2019re encouraged to be determined. Courageous. What parts of your brain light up when you try to choose courage? For controls, researchers used teddy bears and snake-handlers. Unsurprisingly, snake handlers experience far less fear because they sleep with snakes rather than teddy bears (I may still be exaggerating, but only slightly).<\/p>\n \u00a0Before this study, we already knew that the OFC receives input from both the frontal lobes and the limbic system, particularly from the amygdala. These regions help guide decision-making: your thoughts (frontal lobe) and emotions (limbic system) particularly fear (amygdala). In moments needing courage, your OFC essentially choose between signals from your frontal lobe (thoughts and values) and your amygdala (fear). It\u2019s the old thoughts vs emotions battle.<\/p>\n The amygdala\u2019s job is to keep you alive. That\u2019s why it sounds the emotional alarm of fear. Often. Incessantly. Your frontal lobe reasonably reminds you of what matters to you, what you value. Your OFC chooses between these competing inputs: values or fears? A decision is pending. With a decision made, the OFC instructs the motor cortex and basal ganglia to act in words or deeds. This is a gross simplification, and you know the full picture is much more complex, but these are the relevant basics. Back to the study.<\/p>\n \u00a0The scanner results<\/strong><\/p>\n The study found increased blood flow to two key brain areas:<\/p>\n \u00a0The subgenual anterior cingulate gyrus (sgACG), deep inside the brain<\/p>\n The right temporal pole (rTP), near the surface of the lower right brain<\/p>\n \u00a0This shows that courage involves specific, active neural networks and particular brain regions. Let\u2019s explore these further.<\/p>\n The sgACG, according to the study, is involved in processing thoughts and feelings. Specifically, it helps your thoughts regulate your emotions, especially due to fear and traumatic memories. This area is known to function less well in people with PTSD. As a centre of empathy, the ACG is, according to other studies, active in empathy and social settings. It helps you, for example, feel empathy to gain the courage needed to sign a petition, join a protest, stand up to a bully, or even jump into cold water because others are doing it. During courageous acts, the study explains, the sgACG helps regulate the amygdala to keep it calm and chill <\/em>(the study uses different words). In other words, it quiets down the fear signals.<\/p>\n \u00a0The right temporal pole (rTP) also plays a role in social behaviour and emotion regulation. It helps you interpret external stimuli, connects to your senses (such as sight and sound), and interacts with the OFC and amygdala to regulate your emotional responses. It\u2019s involved in language, face recognition, emotion processing, and reading social cues. It also tends to be underactive in individuals with PTSD. Like the sgACG, it contributes to keeping the amygdala calm and chill<\/em> to quiet down fear signals.<\/p>\n \u00a0So these brain regions together help quiet down the amygdala\u2019s incessant fear chatter to your OFC. They keep it pinned down and quiet while the OFC thinks. With quieter fear messages from your amygdala, your OFC can listen to your frontal lobe reason and values more. Now, your OFC can choose courage even if you feel fear. It can say hey amygdala, I hear your pain, but this time I\u2019m not listening to you. <\/em>With the amygdala pinned to the floor by the rTP and ACG, the OFC can choose courage.<\/p>\n \u00a0The courage networks <\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0Sure. I\u2019ve taken liberties to explain a very complex situation. But, in a situation that takes courage, here are the brain basics:<\/p>\n The OFC must decide: courage or not?<\/em><\/p>\n The Amygdala fear and Frontal lobe reason and values shout at the OFC at the same time.<\/p>\n The sgACG + rTP (thoughts-over-emotions areas) help pin down the amygdala to shut it up.<\/p>\n The OFC hears the frontal lobe reason and values more.<\/p>\n A decision for courage becomes more likely.<\/p>\n That\u2019s courage. It\u2019s not the absence of fear. It\u2019s your OFC making a courageous choice for what you want and what you value in the face of amygdala fear. Even if it terrifies you. \u00a0<\/p>\n Hopeful news<\/strong><\/p>\n The study also suggests something quite profound. If specific courage networks exist, and the study showed that they do, they can also be strengthened. In line with the principles of neuroplasticity, this could be done with practice or some other stimulation. The authors proposed meditation or transcranial magnetic stimulation as potential tools to help do this. <\/p>\n In the next post, I\u2019ll suggest other ways to strengthen your courage circuits: by surrounding yourself with the right people to help you make the right choice for the right outcomes; and through learning and practicing courage as a skill, just like a footballer practices ball skills, a violinist practices scales, or a snake handler practices handling snakes. Learning and growing skills will increase your confidence and competence. This, as we know through habituation and graded exposure, gradually desensitizes you to fear and makes the choice for courage more likely.<\/p>\n \u00a0Choose courage.<\/p>\n \u00a0Cheers<\/p>\n \u00a0Dr Christian Heim<\/p>\n Courage can be trained. Join Dr Christian Heim\u2019s monthly email for practical psychological tools you can use immediately<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n