Star Man
02-21-2013, 07:10 PM
AlterNet (https://www.alternet.org) / By Laura Gottesdiener (https://www.alternet.org/authors/laura-gottesdiener)
Are Republican Brains Different?
A new study indicates a biological basis for conservative tendencies.
February 21, 2013
Downloaded February 21, 2013 from https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/are-republican-brains-different
https://www.alternet.org/files/styles/story_image/public/story_images/politicalbrain.jpg A brain scan study recently revealed that Democrats and Republican process and understand risk in different ways, with Democrats more attuned to their emotions and those of others, while Republicans are more driven by fear and potential reward.
The study analyzed the brain scans of 83 people as they played a gambling game in which participants could either score the easy low points or hold out for possible higher rewards. Both Democrats and Republicans exhibited similar levels of risk-taking—in other words, they were equally likely to hold out for the higher but riskier rewards—but different regions of their brains were activated during these decisions.
For Democrats, the region of the brain with the most activity was the left posterior insula, a region that is associated with processing emotions and understanding what other people are thinking or feeling. The region is sometimes called the “theory of the mind,” and it’s the part of one’s brain that allows you to estimate, for example, what your friend, partner or even a stranger may be thinking by imagining yourself in their shoes, so to speak. (No word yet on whether woman’s brains have vastly more developed “theory of the mind” regions.) It’s a region that’s associated with empathy and the understanding that each person has their own unique point of view.
For Republicans, the region of the brain that was most active during risky behavior was the right amygdala. This region of the brain is primarily responsible for producing fear, although it can also create anticipation of reward. It’s the part of the brain that teenagers often rely on to make decisions, one of the reasons that teens are more impulsive (https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/teenbrain/work/onereason.html) and aggressive (https://news.softpedia.com/news/Why-Teens-Are-So-Aggressive-79729.shtml) than adults. The larger role of the amygdala in teenage brains—a role that diminishes as people reach their mid-20s—is one of the justifications for laws that prohibit people from drinking alcohol and doing other things until their early to mid-20s. (Apparently the U.S. military still doesn’t care whether its soldiers have brains that are able to mitigate impulsivity and aggression.) This higher level of activity in the amygdala in Republican brains is something that scientists have observed before, (https://www.alternet.org/story/155210/why_is_the_conservative_brain_more_fearful_the_alternate_reality_right-wingers_inhabit_is_terrifying) although not directly in this risk environment.
So, what does this mean? Is this a blank check to write off Republicans’ decisions as rash and fear-inspired? Not exactly, although it does begin to give us some clues into the human behavior that could be behind some of this year’s most important political battles. If anything, it helps put into context the insane debt ceiling / fiscal cliff / sequestration cut controversy, which is pretty much screaming Amygdala, Amygdala!
Plus it allows us to ask the question: If Republicans actually are more heavily influenced by their amygdala, should they really be allowed to rent cars?
* * * * * * * * * *
This study does not necessarily identify a genetic difference between Republican and Democratic brains. Mirror neurons have been shown by functional magnetic resonance imaging studies to produce the effects called "theory of mind" in this article, an effect where one can empathize with what another is experiencing. These mirror neurons develop in the context of a healthy maternal dyad. Allan Schore has recently written that " intersubjective affective experiences embedded in the attachment relationship with the mother influence the maturation of emotion processing limbic circuits of the developing right brain."
When the attachment relationship with mother is defected for whatever reason, the functions of compassion, empathy, and prosociability do not develop or do not develop fully. The locus of emotional control remains in the primitive amygdala instead of moving to higher and higher centers like the insula and the right orbitofrontal cortex.
The finding that Republicans regulate emotion from the amygdala suggests that there were deficiencies in the maternal relationship for Republicans and that Democrats are more likely to have had a healthy maternal attachment. This finding is certainly consistent with Republican attitudes toward women, pregnancy, abortion, birth control, and rape.
We must be careful drawing more than tentative conclusions from this study, because it only involved 83 participants.
At the same time, I wonder what Sean Hannity's brain would look like in this study, or Rush Limbaugh's, or for that matter Ann Coulter's.
The author of the article asks if Republicans should be allowed to rent cars. I think it's more appropriate to ask if they should be allowed to vote or hold office.
Star Man
Are Republican Brains Different?
A new study indicates a biological basis for conservative tendencies.
February 21, 2013
Downloaded February 21, 2013 from https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/are-republican-brains-different
https://www.alternet.org/files/styles/story_image/public/story_images/politicalbrain.jpg A brain scan study recently revealed that Democrats and Republican process and understand risk in different ways, with Democrats more attuned to their emotions and those of others, while Republicans are more driven by fear and potential reward.
The study analyzed the brain scans of 83 people as they played a gambling game in which participants could either score the easy low points or hold out for possible higher rewards. Both Democrats and Republicans exhibited similar levels of risk-taking—in other words, they were equally likely to hold out for the higher but riskier rewards—but different regions of their brains were activated during these decisions.
For Democrats, the region of the brain with the most activity was the left posterior insula, a region that is associated with processing emotions and understanding what other people are thinking or feeling. The region is sometimes called the “theory of the mind,” and it’s the part of one’s brain that allows you to estimate, for example, what your friend, partner or even a stranger may be thinking by imagining yourself in their shoes, so to speak. (No word yet on whether woman’s brains have vastly more developed “theory of the mind” regions.) It’s a region that’s associated with empathy and the understanding that each person has their own unique point of view.
For Republicans, the region of the brain that was most active during risky behavior was the right amygdala. This region of the brain is primarily responsible for producing fear, although it can also create anticipation of reward. It’s the part of the brain that teenagers often rely on to make decisions, one of the reasons that teens are more impulsive (https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/teenbrain/work/onereason.html) and aggressive (https://news.softpedia.com/news/Why-Teens-Are-So-Aggressive-79729.shtml) than adults. The larger role of the amygdala in teenage brains—a role that diminishes as people reach their mid-20s—is one of the justifications for laws that prohibit people from drinking alcohol and doing other things until their early to mid-20s. (Apparently the U.S. military still doesn’t care whether its soldiers have brains that are able to mitigate impulsivity and aggression.) This higher level of activity in the amygdala in Republican brains is something that scientists have observed before, (https://www.alternet.org/story/155210/why_is_the_conservative_brain_more_fearful_the_alternate_reality_right-wingers_inhabit_is_terrifying) although not directly in this risk environment.
So, what does this mean? Is this a blank check to write off Republicans’ decisions as rash and fear-inspired? Not exactly, although it does begin to give us some clues into the human behavior that could be behind some of this year’s most important political battles. If anything, it helps put into context the insane debt ceiling / fiscal cliff / sequestration cut controversy, which is pretty much screaming Amygdala, Amygdala!
Plus it allows us to ask the question: If Republicans actually are more heavily influenced by their amygdala, should they really be allowed to rent cars?
* * * * * * * * * *
This study does not necessarily identify a genetic difference between Republican and Democratic brains. Mirror neurons have been shown by functional magnetic resonance imaging studies to produce the effects called "theory of mind" in this article, an effect where one can empathize with what another is experiencing. These mirror neurons develop in the context of a healthy maternal dyad. Allan Schore has recently written that " intersubjective affective experiences embedded in the attachment relationship with the mother influence the maturation of emotion processing limbic circuits of the developing right brain."
When the attachment relationship with mother is defected for whatever reason, the functions of compassion, empathy, and prosociability do not develop or do not develop fully. The locus of emotional control remains in the primitive amygdala instead of moving to higher and higher centers like the insula and the right orbitofrontal cortex.
The finding that Republicans regulate emotion from the amygdala suggests that there were deficiencies in the maternal relationship for Republicans and that Democrats are more likely to have had a healthy maternal attachment. This finding is certainly consistent with Republican attitudes toward women, pregnancy, abortion, birth control, and rape.
We must be careful drawing more than tentative conclusions from this study, because it only involved 83 participants.
At the same time, I wonder what Sean Hannity's brain would look like in this study, or Rush Limbaugh's, or for that matter Ann Coulter's.
The author of the article asks if Republicans should be allowed to rent cars. I think it's more appropriate to ask if they should be allowed to vote or hold office.
Star Man