April 24, 2024

Political views are reflected in brain structure

Michael Cook

A number of studies have found that there is a genetic or psychological basis for political preferences. Now reseachers at University College London, writing in Current Biology, claim that these are also related to brain structures.

A number of studies have found that there
is a genetic or psychological basis for political preferences. Now reseachers
at University College London, writing in Current
Biology, claim that these are also related to brain structures.

Individuals who call themselves liberal
tend to have larger anterior cingulate cortexes, while those who call
themselves conservative have larger amygdalas. Based on what is known about the
functions of those two brain regions, the structural differences are consistent
with reports showing a greater ability of liberals to cope with conflicting
information and a greater ability of conservatives to recognize a threat, the
researchers say.

The take-home message is that conservatives
are easily worried or frightened and that liberals are open to new experiences.
But is this fixed at birth, or does experience shape the brain? Kanai says that
it is hard to tell. “It’s very unlikely that actual political orientation
is directly encoded in these brain regions,” he said. “More work is
needed to determine how these brain structures mediate the formation of
political attitude.”

Cognitive neuroscientist Martha Farah, of
the University of Pennsylvania, told Science
that the widely reported news was not very significant, as there is a great
deal of conflicting evidence about the functions of these parts of the brain. “They’re
indulging in a bit of just-so storytelling,” she said. ~ Eurekalert,
Apr 7

Michael Cook
neuroscience
politics

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