5/9 How Culture Shapes our Brains
Introduction
We have discussed in the past the role of our background and upbringing to the way we develop. Around the world, people eat different foods, dress in different clothes and speak different languages. They may also have different views of the world and their individual beliefs. This week, we will expand on that and look at mounting evidence on the effects of culture on our brain. Do we make conscious decisions, or are these thoughts and beliefs wired into our brain? Does our thinking relate back to our culture? Are there actual physiological differences between how we process visual information? And are these differences the result of neural responses or are they actually structural changes in the brain? Our lesson will look at these things and more as we discuss the affect of culture on our brain.
Your Thinking Brain
(Your Thinking Brain, 2022) (Takiguchi, 2020)
We should start with the process of thinking, which serves to capture our perspectives and views. Unlike other animals, humans have the ability to reflect on the past, imagine the future and plan ways to reach our goals. It is the cortex, the brain’s outer layer, which enables us to remember the past and predict the future before we make decisions.
The brain is the key to intelligence. Intelligence includes things like processing speed, memory, empathy, creativity and connectivity. Some of these abilities come from your DNA, but research has shown that our brain is shaped by individual experiences, and the interaction between genes and your environment.
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Experiences can shape our brain from the very earliest point of development.
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Our genes and environment also shape the brain
The thinking brain has several critical functions. They include:
Language: Language makes thoughts possible, providing the concepts we think with and the rules for linking them together.
Memory: Memories are the refiring of the neurons fired when you first had that thought or experience. The neurons change with memories; synapses become stronger with learning.
Reasoning: Our ability to live in the moment, reflect on the past or imagine the future are all abilities that we possess as humans. Reasoning involves taking facts and evidence and combining them with thinking to draw conclusions. There are 20 different types of reasoning, including inductive reasoning (starting from the specifics and expanding to cover a range of observations) and deductive reasoning (staring from a general rule and moving to a specific item).
Learning: Learning occurs when people think. Humans learn using a trial and error process, combining them with experiences, abstract thought and deduction. Intelligence arises from the number of new connections, where the brain integrates incoming data with information already stored on the brain.
Thinking begins with neurons. Chemical processes in the brain send out messages that determine the mental processes of thinking. Glia cells between neurons in the brain interact with the neurons and hormones chemically at the production of thought. The motor neurons produce the action in the muscles and the sensory neurons connect to our five senses.
Thinking brings together information from the various parts in something that we understand, referred to as cognition. A fMRI is able to determine the location of thought processes in the brain. The PET can also document images of the brain during thought. It is these tools that help us to understand the process of thinking.
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This no-nonsense video describes the thought process. It includes a description of the interactions of neurons when thinking, and the incredible energy requirement. It also gives us a view of how the brain what it needs to power the thoughts. Very well done video!
Where in the brain does thinking occur?
(Moawad, 2018)
Prefrontal cortex: The frontal lobe is the largest region of the brain and is more advanced in humans. The frontal lobe (and mainly the prefrontal cortex) is involved in sophisticated interpersonal thinking skills and the competence required for emotional well-being.
Inferior frontal gyrus: Located in the lower back of the frontal lobe, it is the center of creativity. Creativity uses thinking skills relying on background knowledge with innovative thinking. It is the interaction of the inferior frontal gyrus on the two sides of the brain that facilitate creative thinking.
Temporal lobe: Located behind the frontal lobe on both sides of the brain, it is involved in many reasoning skills and particularly reading. Hearing and word recognition require the temporal lobe, while visual recognition is more in the back of the brain in the occipital lobe.
Parietal lobe: Mathematical and analytic skills require interaction between the temporal lobe, prefrontal region and the parietal lobe, located near the back of the brain at the top of the head. Skills for algebraic tasks and calculations are generally concentrated in the left parietal lobe, while geometry and manipulation of 3-dimensional figures are determined primarily by the right parietal lobe.
Limbic system: Located centrally and deep in the brain, it consists of several small structures including the hippocampus, amygdala, thalamus and hypothalamus. The limbic system is involved in emotional memory and mood control. While we view feelings as spontaneous, the control of feeling and emotions require high-level cognitive skills and the interaction of the limbic system with other areas of the brain involved in thinking.
An introduction to the study of culture
(Ortega, 2016)
Now that we know the role of the brain in thinking, we can look at culture. And specifically, how do scientists look at the impact of culture in the brain?
In an interesting piece written in 2016, professors Francisco Ortega and Fernando Vidal attempt to break down culture, whether in the brain or by the brain. They begin by describing research and academic papers on cultural neuroscience, social neuroscience and neuroanthology, and question whether these research projects can actually assign cultural practices to neurons.
There are strategies used by researchers to study cultural neuroscience. Using neuroimaging techniques, they can try to understand whether culture involves genetic influences on the brain or are a result of brain plasticity. It is brain plasticity that cultural neuroscientists embrace, the feature that enables interaction of the brain and culture in explicit values, socially shared action and individual idiosyncrasy. Ultimately, it explains intercultural neural differences as a consequence of practice and experience.
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What is cultural neuroscience and why is it so important today? This NIH video explains the concept, paving the way for the rest of this lesson.
Cultural neuroscience uses two strategies to study culture:
Culture mapping: Determining which cognitive or neural processes vary across cultures without determining whether differences are learned or innate.
Source analysis: Attempts to determine the source or causes of cultural mapping, including genetics, cultural learning and the degree of similarity between cultural environments.
The study of culture remains ongoing. Although imaging has assisted in narrowing down some conclusions about culture in the brain, the debate remains on whether it is neural (plasticity) or genetic.
People think differently
(Seeing Culture in Our Brain, 2019)
People think differently, this we understand. There have been studies which have compared people of different backgrounds to see if they are thinking differently. And they have seen differences.
For example, people in Eastern cultures (such as East Asians) tend to use a holistic thinking style focusing on the overall pattern things and how they exist in relationship with others. In contrast, those in Western cultures seem to focus on an analytical style of thinking, focusing on individual objects and separating the parts from the whole.
Even perceptual experiences can be influenced by cultural differences. Looking at Western art versus Eastern art, you may see more of a main figure focus in Western Art and a more overall environment in Eastern art.
We discussed some research in the section on culture. Research as found that when presented with a complex scene with a main object, Westerners’ eyes focus more on the main objects while East Asians’ eyes shift to the background soon after they inspected the main objects. And, after viewing, Westerners can remember more details about the main objects while East Asians remember more about the background. This suggests a difference in values as well (Westerners attend to individual things and East Asians attend to relationships).
Visual processing and the brain
(Kiff, 2013)
Why would there be a difference? One area that needs to be considered is how our brain processes information. There is a hypothesis known as the two-streams of visual processing. This is a widely accepted model of neural processing which suggests that humans possess two visual systems. As visual information enters the occipital lobe, it follows two streams:
Ventral stream (the “what pathway”) which travels to the temporal lobe and is involved with object identification and recognition, allowing planning of behavior.
Dorsal stream (the “how pathway”) which terminates in the parietal lobe and is involved with processing the object’s spatial location relevant to the viewer in order to program behavior.
Although only a hypotheses, this idea of two-streams may help to identify if there is a difference in the brain structure. Looking at the areas of the brain activated when viewing or thinking may reveal which pathway is stronger, and whether than can be attributed to culture or to genetics.
Brains wired by culture
(Kitayama, 2011) (Kitayama S. &., 2010) (Zhu, 2007) (Azar, 2010)
We will finally look at research and studies which have looked at whether our brains are wired during a lifetime of different culture or is this merely a genetic result.
In a blog written by Cultural Psychology lecturer Dr. Marianna Pogosyan, brain plasticity is the key to the rewiring of our brains. This ability to adapt to long-lasting engagement in behavior (also known as cultural tasks) has been documented in many studies including the London Taxi Drivers and jugglers.
She suggests that culture is embrained, an idea that suggests that the brain serves as a site to accumulate effects of cultural experience, and that neural connectivity is modified through sustained engagement. Since the process is embrained, it requires no cognitive evidence. Our lesson has described cross-cultural differences among Western and East Asian participants, suggesting that cultural background can influence neural activity during cognitive functions.
Self-construal is how we perceive and understand ourselves, in terms of behavior, cognition and emotions. Western cultures promote an independent self-construal where the self is view as separate and autonomous with an emphasis on independence and uniqueness. In contrast, East Asian cultures foster an interdependent self-construal with a self that is more relational, harmonious and interconnected.
Research has suggested that self-construal mediates differences in brain activity across different cultures, activating various neural processes involved in cognition and emotion. In other words, active and continual engagement in cultural tasks that reflect values of independent or interdependent self-construals have been shown to produce brain connections that are “culturally patterned”, the foundation of the cultural construction of self. This neural blueprint may be the foundation of the cultural construction of self.
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From National Geographic, a look at cultural differences. Fascinating look at someone viewing our culture from their perspective.
Culture also seems to influence the way we view ourselves in the brain. In an experiment with Western (independent) and East Asian (interdependent) groups, fMRI was used to measure brain activity judging personal trait adjectives regarding self, mother or a public person. Although both the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) were activated in both groups when considering self, the mother-judgments activated the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) in Chinese but not Western subjects. Researchers suggested that Chinese individuals use MPFC to represent both the self and the mother, while Westerners use MPFC to represent exclusively the self, suggesting that culture shapes the functional anatomy of self-representation.
Culture may also shape biology. One study measured brain activity between American and Japanese participants while viewing silhouettes of bodies in postures which were either dominant (tall with arms crossed) and submissive (head and arms hanging down). Using fMRI, researchers found that the brain responded differently to visual input. When Americans viewed the dominant silhouettes but not the submissive ones, reward circuitry fired in the limbic system. With Japanese participants, however, the reward circuitry fired in response to submissive but not dominant silhouettes. In addition, the self-reports of how much participants valued dominance and submissiveness affected the rewards fired.
Cultures may also determine how people perform cognitive tasks, even if they are using the same brain circuitry. For example, a small study of Japanese versus Americans found that those from Japan were better at judging the length of a line relative to the box in which it is drawn, while Americans were better at judging the absolute length of the same line, in agreement with other studies which suggest Americans pay more attention to details and Asians pay more attention to context.
Different cultures may have different perspectives in cognitive tasks.
But can biology shape culture? Researchers are beginning to study this as well. In research out of Northwester University, Dr. Joan Chiao demonstrated that people who live in collectivist cultures are more likely than those in individualistic cultures to have a form of the serotonin transporter gene (the S-allele) that correlates with higher rates of negative affect, anxiety and depression. But she also found something unusual. She found that people from collective cultures were less likely to be depressed, suggesting that collectivism produces less negativity affects and may have co-evolved with S-allele, resulting in a culture which reduces stress and the risk of depression by emphasizing social harmony and social support.
However, researchers are aware that variable cultural values can differ even with cultural groups, as people filter information from their environment and form their own self-concepts. Further research is needed which would include guidelines matching participants with how long they have been immersed in the culture being studied, making sure that study materials are culturally appropriate and considering potential genetic variation within a cultural group that may account for differences.
Individualist and collective
Individualism in countries
Implications of cultural differences among individuals
(Ambady, 2011)
We have seen in this lesson how culture shapes neural activity in basic mental tasks and processes as well as how we think and perceive things. What can be some real-world implications of these culture-brain interactions? In a study of leadership preferences across cultures, American and Japanese participants saw faces of actual U.S. and Japanese political candidates and formed impressions of them based on power and warmth and indicated who they would vote for. American participants preferred powerful candidates while Japanese preferred those who looked warmer. However, fMRI scans showed that both American and Japanese used the exact area of the brains for this task (the amygdala), demonstrating that members of both cultures showed the same neurological path but different behavioral outcomes based on their cultural preferences.
Other research has suggested that people react strongly at the neural level to emotional signals from their own group, but not from others. One study found greater activation in the amygdala when viewing faces in their own group, and a similar pattern of activity to facial cues in the superior temporal sulcus when performing a mind-reading task to members of their own culture as compared to others.
Can these differences change? A study of Brazilian ballet dancers who watched a video performance of the moves they were trained to perform as twice the activation in the mirror-neuron system as compared to non-dancers who had never performed. So, it appears that when exposed to other cultures, the brain may become ore culturally tuned.
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This 15 minute Ted Talk is fast moving and engaging. We learn about our view through cultural glasses, and are encouraged to embrace cultural diversity. Definitely worth your time, this is a great conclusion to a fascinating lesson.
Summary
We took the long way to learn if culture shapes our brains and the process. We learned about how thinking occurs in the brain, which paves the way for understanding research on changes in the brain based on cultural background. We saw evidence that people do think differently, depending on their culture, but that there is a possibility for change using methods like priming and exposure to other cultures. Ultimately, It is hoped that cultural neuroscience could create greater understanding between people of different cultures.
Works Cited
Ambady, N. (2011, May 4). The Mind in the World: Culture and the Brain. Retrieved from psychologicalscience.org: https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/the-mind-in-the-world-culture-and-the-brain
Azar, B. (2010, November). Your brain on culture. Retrieved from apa.org: https://www.apa.org/monitor/2010/11/neuroscience
Kiff, D. J. (2013, May 24). Two-streams hypothesis of visual processing. Retrieved from psychology.fandom.com: https://psychology.fandom.com/index.php?title=Two-streams_hypothesis_of_visual_processing&action=history&year=2022&month=-1&tagfilter=
Kitayama, S. &. (2010, June 26). Cultural neuroscience of the self: understanding the social grounding of the brain . Retrieved from academic.oup.com: https://academic.oup.com/scan/article/5/2-3/111/1662496?login=false
Kitayama, S. a. (2011, January). Culture, Mind, and the Brain: Current Evidence and Future Directions. Retrieved from annualreviews.org: https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-psych-120709-145357
Moawad, D. H. (2018, June 1). Partsof the Brain Associated with Thinking Skills. Retrieved from livestrong.com: https://www.livestrong.com/article/145593-parts-of-the-brain-associated-with-thinking-skills/
Ortega, F. a. (2016, Oct). Culture: by the brain and in the brain? Retrieved from scielo.br: https://www.scielo.br/j/hcsm/a/TTtPWhx9G8Ympmb3ZBtyM7H/?lang=en
Seeing Culture in Our Brain. (2019, September 11). Retrieved from brainfacts.org: https://www.brainfacts.org/thinking-sensing-and-behaving/thinking-and-awareness/2019/seeing-culture-in-our-brain-091119
Takiguchi, S. (2020, July 8). Human Brain thinking Process. Retrieved from livestrong.com: https://www.livestrong.com/article/202078-human-brain-thinking-process/
Your Thinking Brain. (2022, January). Retrieved from amnh.org: https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/brain-the-inside-story/your-thinking-brain#:~:text=Humans%20don't%20just%20react,actions%20before%20we%20make%20decisions
Zhu, Y. e. (2007, February 1). Neural basis of cultural influence on self-representation. Retrieved from sciencedirect.com: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1053811906009189