Seeing others' struggles can strengthen our emotional resilience

Have you ever considered the impact of simply observing how others deal with challenging situations? It’s a lot more profound than you might think. This act of empathy can help us develop a layer of emotional armor, helping us with resilience and shielding us from the mental health ravages of trauma, such as depression.

The researchers at the University of Lausanne (UNIL) have been delving into this, studying how this “emotional contagion” works in mice – and they’ve cracked the code.

What’s resilience, anyway?

When life throws us tough situations, we humans have a knack for getting through it, picking up and pressing on. This is what we call resilience.

That said, not everyone finds it so easy to bounce back from traumatic events. Some folks may feel stuck in a rut, losing their motivation and drive, the telltale signs of depression.

If we could boost resilience in these vulnerable individuals, we could fortify them against the onset of debilitating mental health conditions. However, we’re not quite there yet.

“There is a lack of clinical tools or underlying mechanisms to promote this type of conditioning capable of fostering a resilient reaction as in healthy people,” says Manuel Mameli, Associate Professor at the Department of Fundamental Neurosciences at the Faculty of Biology and Medicine, UNIL.

Peek, learn, endure for emotional resilience

How did the UNIL neuroscientists crack this nut?

They created an experimental model to promote resilience and then measure its effects on the development of pathological traits following trauma. The process was quite ingenious.

“We started from the recognized fact that simply observing the emotional experiences of others helps us to learn from them. It’s a phenomenon known as emotional contagion, and it engages resilience”, explains Manuel Mameli.

They used an “observer” mouse, who got to watch another mouse experiencing mild electric shocks. This observation served as a protective shield for the observer mice — when they later experienced the shocks themselves, they largely avoided falling into depression-like states.

On the other hand, the mice that didn’t get a chance to observe the shocks, they weren’t so lucky.

Meet serotonin, our resilience maestro

Stumbling upon the behavioral principle was a big win. But the UNIL scientists didn’t stop there. They dived deeper, identifying the brain mechanism mediating this learning process.

They focused on an itsy-bitsy brain structure called the habenula, known for its involvement in our emotional and sensory processing, and regulation of neurotransmitters linked with depression, notably serotonin. They developed imaging tools to track this elusive molecule in mice.

“It’s very difficult to measure the variation of serotonin in the brain. Thanks to a biosensor developed by Yulong Li of Peking University, co-author of the study, we were able to identify the key mechanism,” says Manuel Mameli.

The team found that this emotional contagion coincided with a change in neuron function in the habenula, along with a surge in serotonin release in this region.

“It’s the dynamics of serotonin that change during this task, and this is the key finding of our study,” reveals Sarah Mondoloni, a postdoctoral fellow in Manuel Mameli’s lab at UNIL.

Emotional resilience and mental health

The revolutionary findings at the UNIL offer promising implications for mental health treatment and therapy.

If emotional contagion can bolster resilience, then therapeutic models that incorporate observational learning may be beneficial for those struggling with mental health issues.

Such approaches could potentially enable individuals to develop coping mechanisms by learning from those who have navigated similar challenges successfully.

This could be particularly impactful for vulnerable populations, offering a pathway towards improved mental health resilience in a more holistic and supportive environment.

Future directions in research

Building upon the exciting discoveries related to serotonin in the habenula, future research must continue to explore the neurobiological pathways involved in emotional contagion and resilience.

Investigating how these processes can be harnessed not only in animal models but in human populations is crucial.

Additionally, researchers might look into related neurotransmitters and their roles in bolstering or limiting resilience, thereby broadening our understanding of the intricate interplay between social learning and emotional health.

Such inquiries may pave the way for novel interventions that tap into our inherent capacity for resilience through shared human experiences.

New understanding of depression

Depression has long been linked to serotonin. Many antidepressants target serotonin, aiming to boost its concentration in the brain.

This study introduces a novel angle, indicating that a localized surge of serotonin in the habenula could fend off depressive symptoms following a traumatic experience.

“Our discovery could pave the way for new therapeutic applications relevant to depression, for example by testing existing pharmacological serotonin activators. Their use could be refined to achieve better therapeutic approaches,” Mameli aptly concludes.

So next time you watch someone dealing with a tough situation, know that you’re not just a passive observer. You’re building mental resilience, potentially protecting your mental well-being.

And, who knows, this new understanding of serotonin could eventually lead to better therapeutic approaches to fight depression.

The study is published in the journal Science.

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