Scientists from Denmark have published an article in the BMJ where they aimed to define and locate where the Christmas Spirit is in the brain. That’s right you heard me correctly, they’re trying to identify that ‘warm, fuzzy, Christmassy’ feeling that you get when you hear jingle bells.
This was a relatively small study only looking at 26 people, 10 of whom celebrate Christmas and 10 that do not, 6 were excluded as they do not celebrate Christmas but still have a strong affinity to the Christmas season. The subjects were given a questionnaire that asked about how they celebrated Christmas, any traditions they have, and how they feel around the festive season. In the area of the paper where they declare conflicts of interests they stated that ‘participants did not consume any eggnog or gingerbread before the scans’. The study used an fMRI machine to look for activity in the brains of participants whilst they looked at Christmas and non Christmas themed images, it works on the premise that when people see something that they like specific areas of their brain light up.
They statistically analysed the results which showed that participants who celebrate Christmas had a stronger neuronal response when show Christmas themed images when compared to those that don’t. The areas of the brain with the most striking changes were the sensory motor cortex, pre-motor and primary motor cortex, and the parietal lobule. These areas are associated with analysing the outside world, control of behaviour, planning and execution of movements, feeling of spirituality, as well as many other functions.
The study concluded that there is evidence of a ‘Christmas Spirit Network’, and showed that this network of connections was stronger in people that celebrate Christmas and have a strong emotional attachment to the holiday season. In light of this study I suggest that we all increase our Christmas cheer and grab a nice mug of mulled wine and develop the Christmas spirit area of our brains!
