Scientists probe political mind
The Associated Press
SAN DIEGO — Applying some of the same brain-scan technology used to understand Alzheimer's and autism, scientists are trying to learn what makes a Republican's mind different from a Democrat's.
Brain scanning is moving rapidly beyond diseases to measuring how we react to religious experiences, racial prejudice, even Coke versus Pepsi.
This election season, some scientists are trying to find out whether the technology can help political consultants get inside voters' heads more effectively than focus groups or polls.
Already, the scientists are predicting that brain scanning — known as functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI — will be a campaign staple four years from now, despite ethical concerns about “neuromarketing.”
Brain scans measure blood flow. When brain cells start firing in a part of the brain that governs a particular emotion or activity, they need more oxygen, which is carried by the blood.
During an fMRI, active regions of the brain can be seen lighting up on a computer monitor.
Last month, Joshua Freedman and Marco Iacoboni of the University of California at Los Angeles finished scanning the brains of 10 Republicans and 10 Democrats. Each viewed images of President Bush, Sen. John Kerry and Ralph Nader.
When viewing their favorite candidate, all showed increased activity in the region implicated in empathy.
And when viewing the opposition, all had increased blood flow in the region where humans consciously assert control over emotions — suggesting that the volunteers were actively attempting to dislike the opposition.
Nonetheless, some differences appeared between the brain activity of Democrats and Republicans. Take empathy:
One Democrat's brain lit up at an image of Kerry “with a profound sense of connection, like a beautiful sunset,” Freedman said. Brain activity in a Republican shown an image of Bush was “more interpersonal, such as if you smiled at someone and they smiled back.”
And when voters were shown a Bush ad that included images of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the amygdala region of the brain — which lights up for most of us when we see snakes — illuminated more for Democrats than Republicans. The researchers' conclusion: At a subconscious level, Republicans were apparently not as bothered by what Democrats found alarming.
“A lot of decision-making is unconscious, and brain imaging will be used in the near future to perceive and decide about politicians,” Iacoboni said.
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