Distortion a barrier to communication

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Distortion occurs due to the misinterpretation of reality. In order to understand the reason for misinterpretation, we have to first understand the normal physiology. In a healthy individual a message that is received through any of the sensory organs is first sent to the hypothalamus, which is the relay centre of the brain. Depending upon its source the hypothalamus sends the message to the respective part of the brain, where it is further synthesised or interpreted. For example, when we see an object, an inverted image is made on the screen of our eyes, i.e., the retina. However, when the occipital lobe receives the image, it interprets it and makes us see the picture in its original form. This process continues flawlessly throughout our life until a phenomenon that is called as Amygdala highjack or Amygdala leakage takes place.

Amygdala is the most primitive but an important part of the human brain. It is the seat of all emotions. Our old memories of both good and not so good experiences are stored in the form of feelings here. Researches have proved that while a message is being relayed to the respective lobe of the brain from the hypothalamus, sometimes it gets leaked through Amygdala, which mixes the earlier emotions to it.

The classic example is of a person who sees a rope in a dark place and interprets it as a snake. As a child we were told, “don’t go on to the roof top or in the park when it is dark; there may be snakes.” Though it was told to us long back, the information is still stored in Amygdala. Therefore, when we see a rope in the dark even though the image made on the retina is the same as what exists in reality, i.e., a rope, but we see a snake. This is because the earlier information gets mixed up with the new information.

 This phenomenon occurs in all situations. While listening, we interpret the speaker’s words depending upon our present or past emotions and the relationship that we enjoy with the speaker. Depending upon our emotions we even ignore some misdoings if we enjoy a good relationship with the speaker. Otherwise even if the other person is talking something for our benefit, we might take it otherwise.

Now the question is how can we minimise Amygdala leakages. Well, instead of reacting immediately, we should take some time to reflect upon the words that we have just heard and also about the possible reasons for the speaker to say those words.

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