Political orientation is correlated with the structure of our brains. This is revealed in a study published last week in Current Biology led by Ryota Kanai, a postdoctoral fellow of the University College London. Conservatives tend to have a larger amygdala, a brain structure linked to threat recognition, whilst those of us on the Left tend to have a larger anterior cingulate cortex, a structure involved in coping with conflicting information.
Kanai said:
Previously, some psychological traits were known to be predictive of an individual’s political orientation… Our study now links such personality traits with specific brain structure.
His study was prompted by studies showing conservatives are more sensitive to threat or anxiety in the face of uncertainty, while liberals tend to be more open to new experiences. Kanai’s team suspected that such fundamental differences in personality might show up in the brain and that proved right.
Needless to say, right-wing media have mis-reported the study as suggesting that brain structure determines political attitudes, whereas in fact causality is not certain. It’s possible that brain structure isn’t set in early life, but rather can be shaped over time by our experiences.
The question is whether we should act differently, armed with this new knowledge. With a few measurements of parts of our brains, the secret police of the future will have an indication of our political views. Similar things have happened before without any scientific basis. Fortunately, we’re unlikely to be too worried by this. We do have smaller amygdala after all.
