Brain structure differs in liberals, conservatives: study

[lastone]

Source: The Raw Story

"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."



Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/04/07/brain-structure-differs-in-liberals-conservatives-study/

---

Further proof of the genetic differences/defects of being "conservative" - also known as fearful, scared, angry and not open to anything other than your own ideas, and/or fox news viewers...

[Love Bug]

1. Must. Avoid. Obvious. Joke...

:D

[The Backlash Cometh]

10. g'head.

[kenny blankenship]

2. So the old saw about Republicans having "Lizard Brains" is grounded in fact

http://www.crystalinks.com/reptilianbrain.html

Not for nothing are they called Reptilicans.

[backscatter712]

15. Jay Marvin used to call conservatives "brain stems" when he was doing the AM760 morning show.

It fits!

[kenny blankenship]

19. Vote Gorn, Reptilican for President!

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_YZQKE8VlNxg/Sd0sGV9_JSI/AAAAAAAAAgw/zUEMl4YytP0/s320/Star+Trek+Gorn+and+Kirk.jpg

"He kept us out of the Space Federation, he'll get us out of the U.N.!"

[ReturnoftheDjedi]

3. some higher functions fails to develop in their brains. empathy is a complex concept.

[Judi Lynn]

4. Thanks for the info. Just look at their leaders. Omigod. Mutants!

Welcome to D.U., lastone. :hi:

[lastone]

23. Thanks Judi!

Been here a long time - don't post that much but love the community and ideas that are debated here. Technically I consider myself independent and have always voted based on who the best candidate was, that said - I've always voted for the person representing/affiliated with the Democratic Party. Strange how that happens, eh?

Thanks again - have yourself a wonderful, hopefully radiation free, rest of your weekend!

[opihimoimoi]

5. and here I thought for the longest time it was in the water...LOL

[Beartracks]

6. It's genetic?? I was hoping they could be "cured."

:rofl:

-----------------

[happyslug]

27. The Brain is a complex organ, that developers all during your life

The reason people talk and walk about the same time (About nine months) is do to the massive expansion of the brain from birth to nine months. A just born baby is proportionally the same head to body as an adult, at nine months that has changed to about 1/3 of the body is the head. This massive expansion of the brain is what make humans unique from any other creatures including the Chimpanzee.

The brain develop all during your life, but the rate of development drops off after nine months. This rate of development continues till about age 21, then the development is almost (but not quite) non-existent.

Thus during your growth from about nine months to 21 years you develop your brain based on how you use it. We like to view what we learn is much like software, but to degree while it starts as software, as your brain develops it becomes more like hardware. Thus insecure pre-teens and teenagers become caution and fearful thus such teens become "Conservative" and want stability over anything else. They want to be a member of what ever group they can join (i.e. if the largest minority of the area are conservative, such people become conservative).

Liberals tend to be more open to outside ideas and see the problems with society and other people. They were well loved growing up, have stable family growing up, and thus tend to resent when that does not occur (i.e. what other people to be secure like they are). Such people tend to want to be member of a larger group, but are happy to be more picky (i.e. will NOT stay with a group they oppose, even if all of their friends are a member of that group.

Now the above is a simplification of brain development, but I am just pointing out WHY the brain would be different between Liberals and Conservatives.

[quakerboy]

7. It says nothing of genetics. Only physiology

two very different things.

[HankyDubs]

8. science conspires against conservatives again

No more science! Shut it down!

[underpants]

28. As Colbert once said "Facts have a liberal bias"

Can't remember who he was interviewing but it was on the spot and hilarious

[Downwinder]

9. New meaning to thickheaded.

The Neanderthal gene.

[DirkGently]

11. Another reason for conservatives to put scientists on the Enemies List. 8)

[cstanleytech]

12. ummm

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1342239/Brain-study-reveals-right-wing-conservatives-larger-primitive-amygdala.html

^^^ dated 29th December 2010

[backscatter712]

13. In other words, conservatives have brain damage. n/t

[greenman3610]

14. thank you captain obvious

[DeSwiss]

16. This is a continuation.....

...of previous studies in the same area:

Study finds left-wing brain, right-wing brain
Even in humdrum nonpolitical decisions, liberals and conservatives literally think differently, researchers show.

LATimes
September 10, 2007

Exploring the neurobiology of politics, scientists have found that liberals tolerate ambiguity and conflict better than conservatives because of how their brains work. In a simple experiment being reported today in the journal Nature Neuroscience, scientists at New York University and UCLA show that political orientation is related to differences in how the brain processes information.

Previous psychological studies have found that conservatives tend to be more structured and persistent in their judgments whereas liberals are more open to new experiences. The latest study found those traits are not confined to political situations but also influence everyday decisions. The results show "there are two cognitive styles -- a liberal style and a conservative style," said UCLA neurologist Dr. Marco Iacoboni, who was not connected to the latest research.

Participants were college students whose politics ranged from "very liberal" to "very conservative." Scientists instructed them to tap a keyboard when an M appeared on a computer monitor and to refrain from tapping when they saw a W. M appeared four times more frequently than W, conditioning participants to press a key in knee-jerk fashion whenever they saw a letter.

Each participant was wired to an electroencephalograph that recorded activity in the anterior cingulate cortex, the part of the brain that detects conflicts between a habitual tendency (pressing a key) and a more appropriate response (not pressing the key). Liberals had more brain activity and made fewer mistakes than conservatives when they saw a W, researchers said. Liberals and conservatives were equally accurate in recognizing M. Researchers got the same results when they repeated the experiment in reverse, asking another set of participants to tap when a W appeared.

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-politics10sep10,0,5982337.story?coll=la-home-center">MORE

- K&R

[fatbuckel]

17. I`ve been saying this for years, I have some friends that are Republican and these are the ones that

can`t change a light switch or change their own oil or attach an attachment to an email or other simply things like that.I guess that`s why they put up with my "crazy,liberal views".They need me to fix their stuff.

[Zorra]

18. It's completely physiological. I can explain this.

Most people that suffer from chronic constipation develop larger amygdalas over time.

Excess feces backs up into the digestive tract, and the feces is consequently forced into the bloodstream. It then flows to the brain, and most often lodges in that area of the brain commonly known as the amygdala.

The amagdala then swells due to the buildup of fecal matter, resulting in pressure on adjacent areas of the brain. This pressure causes extreme perceptual disorientation, confusion, learning disablities, unreasonable fear, and tendencies toward unprovoked aggression, and eventually profound dementia.

Sadly, the reason that conservatives have much larger amygdalas than normal people is, of course, because they are totally full of shit.

There is no cure.
:(

[me b zola]

25. A mass enema could do the trick

:evilgrin:

[No Elephants]

20. In fairness, they don't even seem to process fear very well, either.

[defendandprotect]

22. Funny ... !!

[cstanleytech]

21. The thread has caused me to

wonder though if we might use their own fear against them, after all they (the republicans in office) have been using fear to goad their base and alot of the independents who lean towards the conservative side more to vote for them but how about we turn it around and brainstorm some ways in which to use the the same fear to vote for (if not for a democrat) a more moderate republican who we can compromise with on issues unlike the current tea party nuts?
Fair is fair after all and its clear they wont stop using fear because they know it works so its time we pickup the sword of fear and as distasteful as it may be learn to wield it, otherwise they are going to run us over roughshod and worst case scenario turn us into a theocracy if they dont first finish turning us into a 3rd world power.

[marions ghost]

24. can we select out

this large amygdala?

Clearly it's not evolutionarily advantageous. People locked in a state of fear and insecurity exhibit backward strategies for survival.

[Qutzupalotl]

26. Our brains continue to adapt to our lifestyle

in that what is used is enlarged and what is not atrophies. It's use it or lose it.

[hayu_lol]

29. About time for...

Phrenology to come back as a hard science.