Liberals, Conservatives, and the Political Brain: fMRI Studies of Political Ideology

Center for Neuropolitics Lecture Series

Liberals, Conservatives, and the Political Brain:
fMRI Studies of Political Ideology

Is there a brain basis for political ideology? Are there differences in brain function for conservatives vs liberals? How deep are thae biological and neurological roots of political behavior?

Emerging research examining functional connectivity (ie, synchrony or correlation of activity between multiple brain regions) has begun investigating the neural underpinnings that drive political ideology, political attitudes, and political actions. This lecture presentation will explore the neurological roots of politics with a large sample, whole-brain analysis of functional connectivity across common fMRI tasks. The data suggest that biological and neurological roots of political behavior run deeper than previously thought.

Featured Speakers
Skyler Cranmer, PhD
Carter Philips and Sue Henry Professor of Political Science, Ohio State University

Zhong-Lin Lu, PhD
Associate Provost for the Sciences and Professor of Neuroscience, NYU Shanghai; Global Network Professor, NYU

James Wilson, PhD
Associate Professor of Statistics, University of San Francisco

Seo Eun (Sunny) Yang, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Political Science and the Network Institute, Northeastern University

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