• @djsoren19@yiffit.net
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    6 months ago

    I read the abstract of the referenced article, this entire image is Conservative nonsense. The study did not find that liberals had an “atrophied” amygdala. It showed that conservatives have an enlarged right amygdala, due to their overpreparedness for a fear response.Meanwhile, the study found that liberal had a larger anterior cingulate cortex, which is an area of the brain commonly associated with empathy and other higher-order processes like decision-making.

    The study provides support for conservatives being scared piss babies who are overly terrified of the world, whereas liberals are empathetic and make better decisions. The fact that this idiot made the entirely wrong conclusion is almost as incredible as it is sad.

    • @Whoresradish@lemmy.world
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      276 months ago

      Yep, there are several studies researching this in various ways. An important thing to point out is that those two portions of the brains are inversely correlated without affecting other portions of the brain like the frontal cortex. So a person can be a good doctor or scientist and also be conservative. So conservatives have high fear responses to people who are different and lack empathy while left leaning people have less fear and increased empathy. Studies also show that brains develop to have an oversized amygdala when they have physical or emotional abuse as growing up or if they have severe lack of resources.

      • @djsoren19@yiffit.net
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        76 months ago

        yeah, that’s very standard. lotta universities have requirements on undergrads participating in studies. that’s why you often see them as the subjects.

        It’s certainly fair to criticize, and it would be interesting to see if the study’s findings hold true for a broader population, but finding test subjects is tough. you take what you can get.