Study shows football fandom alters brain activity, triggering intense emotions, reward responses, and unexpected outbursts in passionate fans.
A recent study has highlighted the neurological changes that occur in the brains of football fans while watching their favorite teams play, which may explain their extreme fanaticism and some of their contrasting behaviors while cheering.
Researchers from Chile have revealed that certain areas of the brain are activated while fans watch their favorite teams' matches, triggering positive or negative behaviors and emotions.
Fanaticism in supporting football teams is a global phenomenon, and fans exhibit different behaviors ranging from casual viewing to intense emotional involvement.
Fans experience a wide range of emotions during matches; for example, they cheer when goals are scored and get angry if refereeing mistakes occur .
To uncover what was happening in detail, researchers used MRI scans to examine the brains of 61 adult male fans who supported two historically rival teams.
In their study published in the journal "Radiology" of the Latin American Radiological Society, the researchers measured the level of sports fanaticism using a special scale that assesses the sense of belonging and the tendency towards violence.
Participants watched 63 goal recordings from matches of their favorite teams, as well as from rival and neutral teams.
The researchers compared brain responses when participants watched their teams score against a historic opponent, and when the opponent scored against them.
"Competition reshapes the brain's evaluation and control balance within seconds," said the study's lead author, Francisco Zamorano, a biologist at the University of San Sebastian in Chile, referring to physiological changes when goals are scored or conceded.
He added: “In the case of a significant victory, the reward circuits in the brain are enlarged compared to non-competitive victories, while the cingulate cortex, which plays an important role in cognitive control, shows paradoxical inhibition in defeat.”
According to the researchers, this inhibition indicates the brain's attempt to suppress feelings or behaviors associated with defeat, but it leads to the opposite results and intensifies the emotional response.
The tests also showed stronger activity in the reward system when the favorite team scored against the opposing team, compared to goals against another team.
Zamorano noted that "this activity is strongest among the most fanatical supporters, which can lead to unexpected outbursts during matches."
He stressed that "cooling down emotions or staying away from stress triggers helps to temporarily restore self-control."
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