home   genetic news   bioinformatics   biotechnology   literature   journals   ethics   positions   events   sitemap
 
  HUM-MOLGEN -> Genetic News | search  
 

Race-Related Brain Activity

 
  May, 17 2005 10:05
your information resource in human molecular genetics
 
     
Novel, threatening or highly arousing images activate a brain area called the amygdala that is involved in emotional processing. Pictures of African-American faces are known to activate the amygdala, at least in caucasian people, but the underlying reason for that activity has remained controversial. A paper in the June issue of Nature Neuroscience now reports that African-American people also show amygdala activation in response to pictures of same-race faces, suggesting that this brain activity may result from learned cultural responses to racial groups.

In participants of both races, brain regions involved in emotion and motivation were more active in response to African-American faces than to caucasian faces. On the other hand, brain regions involved in social processes that are less emotional were more responsive to same-race faces than different-race faces for each group. Since African-American subjects were presumably exposed to many faces of the same race, the authors conclude that amygdala activity in response to African-American faces may reflect negative cultural attitudes toward the group rather than novelty.

Author contact:

Matthew Lieberman (University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA)
E-mail: mdlieber@mac.com

Online publication can be accessed by clicking here.

(C) Nature Neuroscience press release.


Message posted by: Trevor M. D'Souza

print this article mail this article
Latest News
Variants Associated with Pediatric Allergic Disorder

Mutations in PHF6 Found in T-Cell Leukemia

Genetic Risk Variant for Urinary Bladder Cancer

Antibody Has Therapeutic Effect on Mice with ALS

Regulating P53 Activity in Cancer Cells

Anti-RNA Therapy Counters Breast Cancer Spread

Mitochondrial DNA Diversity

The Power of RNA Sequencing

‘Pro-Ageing' Therapy for Cancer?

Niche Genetics Influence Leukaemia

Molecular Biology: Clinical Promise for RNA Interference

Chemoprevention Cocktail for Colon Cancer

more news ...

Generated by News Editor 2.0 by Kai Garlipp
WWW: Kai Garlipp, Frank S. Zollmann.
7.0 © 1995-2023 HUM-MOLGEN. All rights reserved. Liability, Copyright and Imprint.