Brain Differences in Liberals and Conservatives

[d_rawk]

"Scientists from NYU and UCLA report in Nature Neuroscience that the brains of Democrats and Republicans process information differently. This new study finds that the differences are apparent even when the brain processes common information, not just political topics. From the study, liberals were more likely to be accurate and showed more brain activity in the region associated with analyzing conflicts. A researcher not affiliated with the study stated, liberals 'could be expected to more readily accept new social, scientific or religious ideas.' Moreover, 'the results could explain why President Bush demonstrated a single-minded commitment to the Iraq war and why some people perceived Sen. John F. Kerry... as a flip-flopper.'"

LA Times Article

(above quote from the blurb at Slashdot, the article itself is a little more nuanced):

Lead author David Amodio, an assistant professor of psychology at New York University, cautioned that the study looked at a narrow range of human behavior and that it would be a mistake to conclude that one political orientation was better. The tendency of conservatives to block distracting information could be a good thing depending on the situation, he said.

[Davey Boy 2.0]

i was sure this was going to be an Onion article

[boiler]

So, if I were to change political parties and vote differently, my brain functions actually change? Sweet. I'm voting Marijuana party next time.