Mechanisms of envy

Japanese researchers discover mechanisms of envy

Japanese researchers say they have discovered the location in the brain for feelings of envy. Their research also showed that the more envy people feel, the more their brains appear activated.

A team, led by Hidehiko Takahashi of the National Institute of Radiological Sciences, conducted the study on 19 university students.

The students read information about classmates who were doing better in their studies, job-hunting and romantic relationships while their brains were observed with magnetic resonance imaging.

The team found that among the students who felt deeply envious, a part of the frontal lobe which senses physical pain was strongly activated.

The team also found that when students read information about the misfortunes of the envied person, the central part of the brain, called the striatum, was activated. The team says the stronger envy the subjects felt about others, the more pleasure they felt about the others' misfortunes.

Takahashi said his team's research has proven that brain studies could lead to the scientific analysis of human emotions. He added that the research could be applied to the development of new treatments for mental illnesses.

The study results will be released in the US magazine Science.