Liberal? Conservative? Your brains are different, study finds ANS

This is an interesting article about the physical and psychological differences in liberals and conservatives.  The way my cousin used to express this is whether people felt safe in this world: fear based people don't think this world is safe and love based people feel safe in this world.  Isn't it interesting to note that what conservative religion purportedly offers is love/safety/security in the hands of God? It doesn't seem to take though....
Find it here:   http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Liberal+Conservative+Your+brains+different+study+finds/4580174/story.html  
--Kim


 
 
 

Liberal? Conservative? Your brains are different, study finds

 

 
By Andrew Duffy, Postmedia News April 8, 2011
 
 

Liberals and Conservatives may have differences that go well beyond their opinions about what constitutes contempt of Parliament.

A British study suggests there are anatomical differences between the brains of opponents on the left and right of the political spectrum.

The study, published in the online edition of Current Biology, found people who identified themselves as liberal tended to have larger anterior cingulate cortexes, a region of the brain that monitors uncertainty and conflict. Those who identified themselves as conservative had larger amygdalas, a region that processes emotions related to fear.

Researchers say the physical differences reflect the nature of voters: Liberals tend to be more comfortable with uncertainty, conservatives are more sensitive to fear.

"Previously, some psychological traits were known to be predictive of an individual's political orientation," said Dr. Ryota Kanai of University College London. "Our study now links such personality traits with specific brain structure."

Previous work has found political orientation is associated with how people manage uncertainty and fear.

As part of the British study, 90 adults reported their political views on a fivepoint scale from very liberal to very conservative. Then, their brains were scanned and researchers discovered "significant associations" between the volume of grey matter in the regions and an individual's political bent.

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. "It is conceivable [they] have a higher capacity to tolerate uncertainty and conflicts, allowing them to accept more liberal views."

Researchers concede they don't know whether one's political world view is the result of nature or nurture -whether, for example, conservatives are born with large amygdalas, or develop them due to life experiences.

Kanai cautioned about taking the findings too far: "It's very unlikely that actual political orientation is directly encoded in these brain regions," he said, warning more work must be done to understand how the regions interact with other parts of the brain.
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Liberal+Conservative+Your+brains+different+study+finds/4580174/story.html#ixzz1IxK9wtbf