The next time you try to argue with your conservative uncle about his politics, you might be better off saving your precious energy. Apparently, his brain might already be predisposed to his political views, according to a new study from Ohio State University.
This study, which was published in PNAS Nexus, was the largest of its kind to accurately predict whether someone was conservative or liberal solely from an fMRI brain scan. The study involved 174 adults who performed tasks such as sitting in silence, looking at pictures of strangers, or playing a game in which they could win money, per EurekAlert. The brain scans tracked participants’s brain “signatures,” which is a way of visualizing brain activity. They were then asked to rate their politics on a six-point scale from “very conservative” to “very liberal.”
