Spanish neurobiologists have found that in people with extreme authoritarian views - both left and right - there are noticeable anatomical differences in brain structures. The study is published in Futurism , based on the MRI scanning of hundreds of healthy young volunteers and became the first, which compares the left and right authoritarianism separately, and does not combine them into one category.
The Sarahos University involved 100 people between the ages of 18 and 30 - 63 women and 37 men. None of the participants had psychiatric diagnoses. After passing psychological testing, which showed the level of authoritarianism, anxiety, emotionality and impulsiveness, the participants were sent to the MRI of the brain.
People with pronounced right authoritarian beliefs had a smaller volume of gray matter in the Dorshamedial Prefrontal Bark - an area responsible for the ability to understand the thoughts and views of others. This can explain low empathy and tendency to rigid norms and punishments, which is characteristic of supporters of a rigid hierarchy and traditional values.
The left authoritarian respondents found a smaller cortex thickness in the right anterior island proportion, which is associated with emotional processing of information, a sense of moral disgust and deeper emotional regulation. These features can influence the perception of injustice, anger to power structures and a tendency to radical action.
Psychological questionnaires have shown that both left and right authors are prone to impulsive reactions in situations of emotional discomfort. At the same time, the left shows a higher level of anxiety.
"This research allows you to look at authoritarianism not only as a political position, but as a psychological and even neurobiological phenomenon,"-said the author of the work Hesus Adrian-Ventur, a member of the Pseudolab .
According to scientists, the results of the study can help to better understand the nature of extremist beliefs that are gaining popularity in the world. It also gives grounds for a deeper discussion about how political beliefs are formed, and what role not only the social environment but also neurophysiology plays in this.
