Summary: A recent study has discovered a mental circuit that is related to how actively people participate in politics, regardless of their political beliefs. Researchers looked at 124 adult military veterans ‘ statistics and discovered that levels of political involvement were affected by abnormalities in some brain regions.
Lower relationship corresponded with areas involving concern and empathy, whereas higher engagement was linked to damage in areas involving cognitive control. The findings point to a shared neural basis for democratic intensity that spans the intellectual spectrum.
Important Information
- Shared Circuit: A prevalent mental circuit involving the dorsolateral prefrontal lobe and the dorsal precuneus is related to social power, not ideology.
- Lesion Impact: Lesions in the fear/empathy areas (amygdala and the anterior temporal lobe ) were linked to a lower level of political commitment.
- Social viewpoints did not have any corresponding intellectual impartiality with any particular neuroanatomical patterns.
Origin: Mass General
A recent study has discovered a shared head loop that controls the political spectrum’s level of political involvement.
Experts from Mass General Brigham analyzed data from 124 female military veterans who had experienced perceptive head trauma and discovered that intense political involvement was linked to lesions to a specific circuit.
Conservative and liberal participants shared these effects, which suggests that the circuit is related to democratic strength rather than political ideology.
Results are published in Mind, the journal.
According to related artist Shan Siddiqi, MD, chairman of the Psychiatric Neuromodulation Research Center for Brain Circuit Therapeutics at Brigham and Women’s Hospital,” Some studies have examined head differences between conservatives and liberals, but our study focuses instead on intensity of social involvement.”
Researchers used data from individuals in the Vietnam Head Injury Study, who had undergone cognitive tests between 40 and 45 years after sustaining a perceptive head harm, to do their research.
A political survey was used to assess the participants ‘ level of political engagement, which included their level of interest in politics, speed of media coverage, and frequency of political discussion with people.
People who had tumors connected to the dorsolateral prefrontal lobe and the dorsal precuneus, which are thought to power executive function and cognitive control, were more politically active, according to the researchers.
People who had lived with lesions involving the brain and the anterolateral temporal lobes, which are involved in anxiety and empathy, were less politically included.
The authors note that political opinions did not have any obvious neuroanatomical features and did not have an impact on the relationship between physiology and political commitment.
Authors: Stephanie Balters, Giovanna Zamboni, Shira Cohen-Zimerman, and Jordan H. Grafman.
Disclosures: Siddiqi is the owner of intellectual property involving the use of brain connectivity to target TMS, is a scientific consultant for Magnus Medical, has received investigator-funded research funding from Neuronetics and Brainsway, and has received speaking fees from Brainsway and Otsuka ( for PsychU). org ), a shareholder in Magnus Medical and Brainsway ( publicly traded ).
The National Institute of Mental Health provided funding for this study ( Grant No. K23MH121657 and R01MH136248 to Siddiqi ). Additionally, Siddiqi has received funding from nonprofits like the Baszucki Family Foundation and the Brain &, Behavior Research Foundation, as well as investigator-sponsored industry-sponsored funding from BrainsWay Inc and Neuronetics LLC. The funders did not directly participate in the design, analysis, data collection, publication decision, or manuscript preparation.
About this news from neuroscience and politics
Author: Brandon Chase
Source: Mass General
Contact: Brandon Chase – Mass General
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original research has been made private.
By Shan Siddiqi and others,” Effects of focal brain damage on political behavior across various political ideologies.” Brain
Abstract
The effects of focal brain damage on political behavior vary depending on political ideologies.
Brain regions involved in emotional and cognitive processing are linked to heightened political behavior. However, it is still unclear whether this neuroanatomy is compensatory, causal, or otherwise related.
We used lesion network mapping to study 124 male military veterans who had experienced pervasive head trauma. Participants reported current political behavior and recollection of political behavior before the injury 40 to 45 years after the injury.
We mapped the circuitry using a normative connectome database ( n = 1000 ) to the changes in political party affiliation, ideological polarity, and party affiliation.
Political ideology or party affiliation did not have a significant impact on the neuroanatomical circuit, but a distinct circuit did have a significant influence on political involvement. In the entire sample and in participants with conservative-leaning beliefs, political involvement increased after lesions connected to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and posterior precuneus.
In the full sample and in liberal-leaning participants, political involvement was less pervasive after lesions involving the amygdala and the anterior temporal lobe. These effects were valid across cross-validation in the entire sample ( p=0.01 ) and in participants who were both conservatively and liberally leaned.
These findings may help to understand the cognitive mechanisms behind political behavior as well as the clinical evaluation of brain lesions.
