Your brain can let you know whether you're on the appropriate—and it could actually tell us three other things about your politics

Just a few years ago, the leader of Mexico's PRI party told the New York Times that he would “stick with proven campaign tools like polls and political intuition” and depend on them “the old-fashioned way” to win the country's elections.

His party was caught using neuroscience to gauge voters' opinions of their presidential candidate, and the party was embarrassed. Later we all know from other sources that the party continued to make use of neuroscientific techniques. Someone even described their approach as “The new way to win elections”.

The approach is known as neuropolitics and uses brain research to know our politics. It applies the insights of neurology to elucidate why we attend protests, vote for certain parties, and even why we lie about our true feelings in opinion polls, potentially distorting the outcomes to provide the general public a misunderstanding. who will win.

I studied neuroscience before getting my PhD in political science. Back then, studying the brain was a utopian line of research, but things have modified. And that has political implications. The Mexican case is one example of politicians using neuroscience to their electoral advantage, but there are lots of others that I write about in my latest book, The Political Brain.

It might look like science fiction. But it's a fact. We already know quite a bit about how our brains influence our political views and reveal our political opinions. Here are only 4 things your brain can let you know about your politics—and imagine me, there are lots of more.

1. Which politicians you want

Let's start with the fundamentals. Advances in social neuroscience allow us to discover the parts of the brain which are activated after we see political ads—and plenty of other things. We can achieve this because of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

When we predict, the brain needs oxygen. This oxygen is transported with the blood. Because blood incorporates iron, which is magnetic, it can show up in a magnetic scanner. So once I see photos of an individual in distress, more blood flows to an area on the side of the brain called the insula.

To give an example, when we would like to purchase something—or after we like a specific election candidate—we activate an element of the brain called the ventral striatum. It is an element of what is known as the basal ganglia, an element of the brain related to rewards.

So in case your brain prompts whenever you see Candidate A, that is the case a sign that you’re going to vote for her or him.

This also works on a micro level. When we like something, that area is bombarded with a neurotransmitter called dopamine. When we see photos or movies of a candidate we like, there may be more dopamine within the ventral striatum.

2. If you’re center-left

We have to be careful since the brain is a posh machine and no single area is liable for our pondering. However, some areas are linked to political thought.

A study – Co-author of the actor Colin Firth – noted that “greater liberalism [left-wing thinking] was associated with increased gray matter volume in the anterior cingulate cortex.” This a part of the brain is related to empathy. So possibly this research proves it's the left more empathetic..

We should perhaps add that the star of The King's Speech, Pride and Prejudice and Bridget Jones' Diary was guest editor of the BBC's Today radio program when he commissioned researchers to perform the study. He doesn’t have a secret second profession as a neuroscientist, although the work he proposes is legitimate science that has been rigorously peer-reviewed and published in a number one biology journal.

3. If you’re center-right

That was the left side of the brain. What about conservatives or center-right? Well, people of this belief are inclined to be skeptical about change and cautious when making decisions. The brain region related to these features is the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex on the highest of the brain.

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In fact, researchers found that this part was activated when subjects were exposed to video clips with political messages or images of living people alternative lifestyles – something that perhaps indicates a negative response to those lifestyles.

4. If you’re prone to authoritarianism

So far we've checked out moderate leftists and moderate conservatives, but some people also take more extreme positions. Some describe themselves as religious fundamentalists and are prepared to make use of violence against abortion, for instance. Others discover with the far right of the political spectrum.

A small study of those people found that their brains – when placed under the fMRI scanner – show signs of injury to the so-called ventromedial prefrontal cortex. This is an area related to social intelligence and tolerance.

It is tempting to attract conclusions, but it surely needs to be added that those with extreme views are each on the far right and on the far left show activation of the amygdala after they are shown clips of political opponents. Amygdala is the a part of the brain that intervenes when our life is at risk, for instance after we see a snake.

The prediction brain

Some may find this scary. Maybe it’s. Whatever you think that, we already know we are able to do it Predict ideology with as much as 85% accuracy.

Neuropolitics is actually strange and maybe even worrying, but when utilized in pure research it opens up the potential of connecting the natural sciences with the moral sciences. A bit just like the philosopher David Hume He dreamed of this within the 18th century when he sought to “introduce the experimental method of thought into moral subjects.” We can also mix science and philosophy.

You might wish to ignore it. But it's already getting used in the actual world of political promoting. It's not fiction. If misused, it could actually be dangerous. That's why we have now to speak about it.