MILWAUKEE– If you feel like the constant bombardment of election ads and political campaign messages is causing despair and stress, you’re most likely not the only one. Neuro scientist Dr. Kyra Bobinet MD, MPH, told WTMJ’s Spanning the State, that these negative political advertisements may in fact cause some change in how your brain gets motivated.
“Campaigns have gotten more and more into negatives than positives,” said Bobinet. “What that does on a brain level, is it targets the other campaign’s potential voters to say you can’t.”
According to Dr. Bobinet, those negative messages advertently activate a portion of the brain called the habenula which controls your motivations to get something done. When your habenula is off, more tasks get accomplished, but when negative messaging and comments get processed, the habenula turns on and results in a person less motivated to get an action done.
“Any sort of subtle cues, from social media or ads or anything that gets to you, it can get you to feel negative emotions and that activates your habenula,” said Bobinet. “If your habenula is on, your motivation is off, and you’re less likely to vote.”
Dr. Bobinet says to avoid any kind of negativity and lack of motivation from this years election cycle, it’s best to step away from your phone and avoid watching any TV.
“If you can tune it out as much as you can, to have your own private mind-space, that helps you to reset and think about what matters to you the most.” said Bobinet.
