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ORIGINAL: Marc2b

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The brain is an evolving structure, As long as it stays active, new connections are constantly being formed.

I might be wrong but I have heard, more than once, that this process stops around the age of twenty-five.

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Young people tend to be more fearless (TEND OK).

Could that be a reason why they also tend to have more liberal leanings?

Just a question for further research. A long-term linear study (30-40 years) using the same subjects and a questionaire that isn't exclusive to but includes their political leanings might show some interesting data. (or it might not LOL)

Political leanings tend to change over time. Might the supposedly associated brain centers change as well?

I believe that one of the reasons people tend to become more conservative as they grow older is that they have accumulated their wealth (house, savings, etc) and become more settled (it's hard to party all the time when you've got kids to look after, a lawn to mow, etc) and so seek to conserve what their more risk taking youth produced. When you are young and have very little, change is good since change represents an improvement. When you are older and have acquired the means and material you need to live well, change is bad since change represents a deterioration of the status quo.

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ORIGINAL: Kirata

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ORIGINAL: tweakabelle

As far as I'm aware, no one has yet established a causal link between any genetic inheritance and any human behaviour... So it really doesn't matter what genes you have.

Behavioral Genetics

Hebb characterizes the nature-nurture controversy as an argument about whether the area of a rectangle depends more on its width or its length. But this is not the same as claiming that it is meaningless to inquire into the extent to which one or the other may contribute to specific behaviors.

K.

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ORIGINAL: kdsub
I certainly have no medical proof but I’ve seen too many people change their political affiliations over the years to believe in that study.

I would associate youth with liberalism

Butch

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ORIGINAL: Kirata

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ORIGINAL: rulemylife

From your link:

Meanwhile, self-described conservatives are more likely to have a larger amygdala, an almond-shaped area that is associated with fear and anxiety.

Yes, that's what Holly Bailey says. Here's what the researchers say:

Based on what is known about the functions of those two brain regions, the structural differences are consistent with reports showing a greater ability of liberals to cope with conflicting information and a greater ability of conservatives to recognize a threat, the researchers say.

Of further interest, though possibly inconvenient from a certain point of view...

recent research using monkeys has revealed that heightened ACC activity (generally associated with reduced dopamine utilization) reduces capacity to learn how to use visual cues for anticipating rewards... Evidence for the role of the ACC as having an error detection function comes from consistent observations of error-related negativity (ERN) uniquely generated within the ACC upon error occurrences... [but] It is worth noting at this point that no-one has clearly demonstrated that the ERN comes from the ACC. Source localization of ERP components is a notoriously messy business. The ERN could come from any number of brain regions, perhaps several. In light of this, it is striking that patients with lateral PFC damage (not medial) showed reduced ERNs.

Actually, the ACC presents quite a few mysteries that Holly's simplistic characterization "associated with fear and anxiety" fails to convey.

Another puzzle is the finding of decreased dorsal ACC activation and increased rostroventral ACC activation in induced sadness and depression (Mayberg et al., 1999).

Shall we interpret the cited findings as possibly indicating that liberals are depressed?

And more importantly, does this mean that Yahoo News tells lies intentionally?

References in order of excerpts:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110407121337.htm
http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Anterior_cingulate_cortex
http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/content/126/10/2119.full

Thank you. Carry on.

K.

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ORIGINAL: Hillwilliam

One thing we have to realize on this is that we have learned more about neuroanatomy and brain function in humans in the last 30 years than was learned in the previous 30 centuries.

It's a brand new science that shows a huge amount of promise. It also has a huge potential for misuse.

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ORIGINAL: Aneirin

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Meanwhile, self-described conservatives are more likely to have a larger amygdala, an almond-shaped area that is associated with fear and anxiety.

I didn't need science to tell me that, for that was already observed from this forum, people whose politics dwell on conservative ideals are full of fear, it is plain to see.

I wonder where the conspirators fit in, because conspiracy has also been linked to fear and anxiety.