[humanser] How Your Brain May Be Different Than a Conservative's

[Mary Ann Robinson]

How Your Brain May Be Different Than a Conservative's
  AFP April 10, 2011
  Everyone knows that liberals and conservatives butt heads when
it comes to world views, but scientists have now shown that their
brains are actually built differently.
  Liberals have more gray matter in a part of the brain
associated with understanding complexity, while the conservative
brain is bigger in the section related to processing fear, said
the study on Thursday in Current Biology.
  "We found that greater liberalism was associated with increased
gray matter volume in the anterior cingulate cortex, whereas
greater conservatism was associated with increased volume of the
right amygdala," the study said.
  Other research has shown greater brain activity in those areas,
according to which political views a person holds, but this is
the first study to show a physical difference in size in the same
regions.
  "Previously, some psychological traits were known to be
predictive of an individual's political orientation," said Ryota
Kanai of the University College London, where the research took
place.  "Our study now links such personality traits with
specific brain structure."
  The study was based on 90 "healthy young adults" who reported
their political views on a scale of one to five from very liberal
to very conservative, then agreed to have their brains scanned.
  People with a large amygdala are "more sensitive to disgust"
and tend to "respond to threatening situations with more
aggression than do liberals and are more sensitive to threatening
facial expressions," the study said.  Liberals are linked to
larger anterior cingulate cortexes, a region that "monitor(s)
uncertainty and conflicts," it said.
  "Thus, it is conceivable that individuals with a larger ACC
have a higher capacity to tolerate uncertainty and conflicts,
allowing them to accept more liberal views."
  It remains unclear whether the structural differences cause the
divergence in political views, or are the effect of them.  But
the central issue in determining political views appears to
revolve around fear and how it affects a person.
  "Our findings are consistent with the proposal that political
orientation is associated with psychological processes for
managing fear and uncertainty," the study said.
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