Political preference and brain function

In my last post I mentioned some distinctions between otherwise similar people whose political leanings are sharply different.   There are anatomical and presumably neuropsychological differences in the brain between people whose political preferences are, loosely speaking, left or right. A relevant item appeared in Online Science Daily on April 7, 2011. You can read it at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110407121337.htm and I quote from it here:

Individuals who call themselves liberal tend to have larger anterior cingulate cortexes, while those who call themselves conservative have larger amygdalas. 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.
"Previously, some psychological traits were known to be predictive of an individual's political orientation," said Ryota Kanai of University College London. "Our study now links such personality traits with specific brain structure."
Kanai said his study was prompted by reports from others showing greater anterior cingulate cortex response to conflicting information among liberals. "That was the first neuroscientific evidence for biological differences between liberals and conservatives," he explained.
There had also been many prior psychological reports showing that 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, indeed, that's exactly what they found. Kanai says they can't yet say for sure which came first. It's possible that brain structure isn't set in early life, but rather can be shaped over time by our experiences. And, of course, some people have been known to change their views over the course of a lifetime.
It's also true that our political persuasions can fall into many more categories than liberal and conservative. "In principle, our research method can be applied to find brain structure differences in political dimensions other than the simplistic left- versus right-wingers," Kanai said. Perhaps differences in the brain explain why some people really have no interest in politics at all or why some people line up for Macs while others stick with their PCs. All of these tendencies may be related in interesting ways to the peculiarities of our personalities and in turn to the way our brains are put together.

This is a whole new area of scientific study to me, but I’m not surprised to learn about the findings of this work. It makes sense to me that such differences should exist. Sometimes people’s opinions or values are demonstrated by the kind of car they drive: Urban dwellers who drive large gas guzzling cars are telling us they are unconcerned about the environmental impact of their preference.   Conversation often reveals the twisted logic used to justify choice of a large gas guzzler.

The current Canadian government demonstrates is extreme right-wing proclivities in several consistent ways, particularly by its venomous hostility to environmental causes that question the way they support and subsidize the Alberta tar sands. One specific aspect of the present government’s policy that often troubles me is its hostility to scientific observations at odds with its ideology. Facts must not be allowed to get in the way of ideological decisions, for instance about harsh prison sentences for actions that should not even be criminal conduct, i.e. possession of small amounts of marijuana, or provision of safe injection sites for drug users. Woe betide government scientists who make decisions on scientific grounds, when the government wants different decisions. The scientist responsible for safety of the Chalk River Nuclear Research Reactor – an apolitical career scientist who occupied a senior advisory position – was summarily dismissed when the government decided to act in defiance of her recommendations. Up to a dozen other loyal, dedicated Canadian public servants have met similar fates in departments of the environment, resources, foreign services, etc. Government scientists must get clearance from political appointees before speaking, even in discussions at scientific meetings. Mostly they are forbidden to speak at all. 

One current example of anti-science action that deeply troubles me is closing and dismantling of the environmental observation station in the high Arctic. As far as it’s possible to unravel reasons for this, the government seems to be upset mainly because this observation station is monitoring ultraviolet radiation flux, which is increasing to dangerous levels because the protective stratospheric ozone layer is attenuated by ozone-destroying substances. The government is extremely hostile to the concept of climate change: it’s not happening, and if it is, this has nothing to do with combustion of carbon-based fuels. Years ago when the prime minister was head of a right-wing citizens’ coalition opposed to taxation, he stated that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was a socialist plot. Now any proposed action to mitigate or adapt to climate change is a plot by radical environmentalists. Environmentalists are ‘enemies of Canada’ – seditious traitors.  Recent government statements about stratospheric ozone and increased UV radiation reveal worse than profound ignorance, inability to distinguish climate change from stratospheric ozone depletion. I suppose this isn’t surprising from a government that doesn’t contain a single cabinet member with scientific qualifications; but it’s indicative of a cabinet that lacks or doesn’t listen to scientific advisers.  The Online Science report suggests that politically right-leaning people are sensitive to threats in the face of uncertainty. I wonder how they are when faced with certain threats like the very real threat to human, animal and plant life from elevated UV radiation levels in the biosphere.