Neuroscientific reason why Will Smith slapped Chris Rock (Eng subs)

Why did Will Smith slap Chris Rock during the 2022 Oscars? A neuroscientific answer is amygdala hijack triggered by Jada Smith reaction to alopecia joke.

#oscars2022 #Smith #Rock #neuroscience #amygdala

Timecodes:
0:00-Introduction
0:18- Why Will Smith slapped Chris Rock?
0:33 - Alopecia. Hair Loss.
1:15- Will Smith initial reaction to Rock's joke
1:21-Jada Smith reaction to Chris Rock joke
1:25- Amygdala hijack
1:57- Neurobiology behind amygdala emotional processing.
2:18- Neuroscience of amygdala hijack. Flight or fight response
3:12- Prefrontal cortex controls amygdala
3:52- Conclusion.


During Oscars 2022 (94th Academy Award ceremony), an actor Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock, one of the presenters at the Oscars ceremony. This outburst was triggered by the joke from Chris Rock. He said he was looking forward to seeing a Jada Smith (Jada Pinkett Smith) in “G.I. Jane 2,” a reference to a 1997 movie (G.I.Jane) that famously starred a bald Demi Moore as a female soldier. The reason why this joke about a bald haircut of Jada Smith. was taken too seriously by Jada might be linked to the fact that Will Smith"s wife has alopecia, an autoimmune disorder in which the immune system attacks hair follicles of its own body causing the hair loss. Hair follicles in a normal state are thought to be kept secure from the immune system, being a so-called an immune privilege area. What causes this breakdown is an issue of debate. Some blame a dysregulation in the central immune system. Importantly, this condition can not be fully treated and, therefore, a person has to live with alopecia. This is why Jada Smith was not fine with an alopecia joke.

But let`s focus on the reaction to this Chris Rock joke at Oscars and dig a bit into neuroscience of what has happened next at the Academy Award ceremony. Apparently, at the beginning Will Smith laughed together with the other actors and actresses, but then he have seen the reaction of his wife Jada that obviously was not happy with this alopecia joke. Then, Smith perceived Chris Rock’s joke as a threat to his wife’s emotional well-being. For him this stimulus turned from a joke to a threat. What happened next is referred as “Amygdala hijack”. This term was introduced in 1995 by psychologist Daniel Goleman and can be described as an immediate and intense emotional reaction that's out of proportion to the situation. In other words, amygdala hijack is a situation when someone "loses it" or seriously overreacts to something or someone.

Under normal conditions sensory information first heads to the brain area named thalamus, which acts as your brain's relay station. The thalamus then relays that information to the cortex (the “thinking brain”). From the cortical areas, the information is sent to the amygdala (the “emotional brain”) which produces the appropriate emotional response.
However, part of the information goes to amygdala directly. If the amygdala senses danger it initiates so-called fight or flight response. In this case the nervous system provokes the release of the certain stress hormones such as: adrenaline and cortisol. As a result, we have an increase in heart and breathing rates, as well as in a blood pressure. All this makes us more ready to cope with a threatening situation. Importantly, this flight or fight response happens without direct involvement of the cortex, without our logical thinking. Because it should be fast. Even though, being helpful in some real threatening conditions, in many cases this amygdala-driven reflex should be controlled.

The prefrontal cortex is the brain region responsible for suppressing the amygdala hijack. However, in some cases our prefrontal cortex is not able to override this automatic amygdala-driven behaviour, it can be just overwhelming or alcohol can, also, inhibit the prefrontal cortex. This is partially, why people who are drunk are not good in controlling their emotions. Will Smith at Oscars 2022 was obviously not drunk, but if he has consumed some alcohol before, it could have been another factor.

This is what happened, he was driven by this amygdala hijack, performed this slap to Chrisk Rock. When, the prefrontal cortex took over, it was too late. Will Smith did apologize during his award speach, but what is done is done. From a scientific point of view, this case broad into a spotlight two important scientific issues: 1) Alopecia, it is important to be aware about this condition causing hair loss and may be abstain from joking about it, if people are not ok with that. 2) Amygdala hijack, something we may experience ourselves, being prepared for it can help us to cope with this situation


Scientific references:
https://www.healthline.com/health/str... - How to stop Amygdala Hijack
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/bl...
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2009-0... , Chapter 2.