Limbic Resonance: What It Is And How It Affects Relationships
Aristotle said that human beings are social beings by nature, and as such they need to establish relationships with other people to survive and self-realize, which are also essential for their correct development during the first years of life.
In this sense, Limbic resonance consists of a person’s ability to establish an emotional connection and physiological synchronization through empathy towards those close to us, several brain areas such as the limbic system intervening in this process and this connection is essential for maintaining good mental health.
In this article we will talk about where the concept of limbic resonance comes from and we will also explain in more detail what it consists of and how it influences human life.
The theoretical concept known as limbic resonance It was first presented in 2000 in the book “A General Theory of Love.”, written by University of California psychiatry professors Thomas Lewis, Fari Amini, and Richard Lannon. Limbic resonance would be one of the 3 main concepts that are interrelated in this work. Let’s see what they are.
First of all, our loved ones They measurably affect our brain chemistry and nervous system in general, which is what we would understand by “limbic resonance”.
Secondly, this book talks about the idea that our systems would synchronize with those of nearby people ; that is, with those who have some type of significant relationship with us of whatever nature (e.g., family, partner, friends, etc.). This has very profound implications for emotional health and also for personality throughout our lives; This would be a process known as “limbic regulation.”
And thirdly, the aforementioned patterns can be modified through therapeutic practices and it would be this process that was called in the book by the name “limbic revision”.
An example of limbic resonance is found within the dynamics of television, where it has been suggested that the canned laughter that appears in some comedy series (for example, Friends, The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, etc.) were included within this type of series in order to give lonely viewers the feeling of having other people around them laughing around them in those moments when the characters say or do something comical. Therefore, the limbic resonance in these cases would explain the need for that audience that is laughing at any situation that is funny.
Therefore, based on what we have just seen, we could say that the theoretical concept of limbic resonance consists of a person’s ability to share with other people deep emotional states that originate in the brain, and more specifically in the limbic system. Within this process, some circuits intervene, such as norepinephrine, which is responsible for causing some emotional states such as anger, fear or anxiety; as well as the dopamine circuit, which is responsible for promoting feelings of empathic harmony.
In other words, limbic resonance would be that capacity for non-verbal connection and empathy with those close to us, present in human beings, forming part of the essence of their social relationships. Furthermore, in many modalities of therapy and psychotherapy we can find this type of connections as one of the foundations for the therapeutic process to be effective.
Is limbic resonance a mechanism exclusive to humans?
As we have seen, Limbic resonance is a capacity for connection at a non-verbal level and empathy with other beings that serves to form social relationships, given that our central nervous system is not independent, since it has been proven in various studies that it can become in tune with the people who are closely around us; It should be noted that the mirror neurons found in our brain have some influence on this process of connecting with others.
But this process does not only occur in humans, since some scientific advances in recent decades based on observing the limbic system reveal that this is not exclusive to humans, as other vertebrate animals are present.
According to discoveries and theories about the limbic system, this sophisticated brain system is fundamentally responsible for the need for care of offspring through attachment, favoring the advancement and survival of the species. It is from this process that the mechanism of limbic resonance begins to originate, becoming more and more sophisticated with the passage of time, and attachment is something very necessary for our species, which is why we would need to experience it with several people. throughout our lives (e.g., with our parents and grandparents, then with our children and grandchildren, etc.).
On the other hand, this need to establish a connection on an emotional level and also a physiological synchronization through empathy towards our loved ones is essential for maintaining good mental health, since thanks to mechanisms such as limbic resonance we can feeling understood, supported and accompanied, being one of the greatest sources of satisfaction we could have, because they facilitate the establishment of deeper relationships with other people, allowing a person to feel loved.
Can its effects be taken advantage of?
After the concept of limbic resonance was used in 2000 in the book “A General Theory of Love”, it has become increasingly popular through various research that has been carried out subsequently. It has been very useful within the field of psychology when studying the psychological development of people throughout their lives, and about the utmost importance of empathy and human relationships
On the other hand, limbic resonance has been highly emphasized by psychologists because empathy could be considered one of the most important qualities for human beings: its absence is closely related to various problems both social and at a personal or individual level
They have also been able to take advantage of the phenomenon of limbic resonance within the field of marketing, since brands are aware that when people come to empathize with a specific product through its association with a person or with a specific story, it is the more likely it is that said product will impact that person and, therefore, the likelihood that they will purchase the product will be greater.
A phenomenon similar to what occurs inside the briefcase could also be an explanation for the success of today’s ‘influencers’, since they are more likely to be followed by people who identify with what they show on their networks or feel that They have similar tastes.
In this sense, it could be said that the more emotions they express and evoke in their followers through their content such as the videos or photos they upload to their networks, the greater limbic resonance they could create with their followers, some examples of this being when a ‘ youtuber’ or ‘streamer’ shows personal things on their networks or when they carry out live broadcasts to interact with their followers, thus appearing closer to them.
