by Mirjam HollemanNeuroanthropology recognizes the brain’s plasticity (rather than conceptualizing it as a hard-wired instrument) and that cultures help construct both cross-cultural and intra-cultural neural diversity. Different knowledge traditions and environments can lead to variation in brain patterning across cultures, while differential “forms of expertise, difficult social circumstances, social divisions such as those of race, gender, and socioecological conditions can all work to shape neural patterns” (p. 392) of individuals within cultures.
Neuroanthropology focuses on neurocultural processes. “Processes are operation, components, or factors that shape the overall flow, development, or outcome of a phenomenon. As opposed to a simple cause-and-effect model, processes are considered formative rather than determinative” (p. 395). Finley, in her chapter about PTSD, for example, looked at the processes of stress, horror, dislocation, and grief. She did not, however, treat these processes as isolated determiners of PTSD, but argues that these processes, steered along by cultural mediators, interact to form the “inherently integrative dimensions of neurocultural processes” (p 395) that shape the experience of PTSD. An emphasis on neurocultural processes also steers us away from essentialised views of vulnerability. For example, studies that highlight neurological differences between men and women or the increasing evidence that shows that poverty poisons the brain can essentialize gender, or poverty, as inherent vulnerabilities, “rather than focusing on neurocultural processes that explain how that happens,” “confronting entrenched patterns of socialization,“ or challenging “the inequalities that set up the poisoning in the first place” (p. 398). Thus, the notions of “neuroanthropological vulnerabilities” created by “neurocultural processes” illustrate how neuroanthropology can contribute to social analysis and applied interventions. This move away from essentialism, which is foundational to modern anthropology, is evident in other fields - such as neuroscience, psychology, linguistics, and philosophy, as well. The rest of the chapter highlights how a neuroanthropolological perspective can contribute to other fields. Psychological research has often tended to look for “universal mechanism located within the mind” (p. 402) and “has never considered either neuroplasticity or culture as foundational operating principles for the mind” (p. 403). In fact, “culture and environment were elements to be controlled and excluded in experimental designs” (p. 403). Bringing in a neuroanthropological perspective means “recognizing that psychological processes generally do not happen in laboratories to subjects, but to individuals with biographies and biases, in situations shot through with power shaped by negotiations [or interactions] and overshadowed by significance” (p.404). However, it’s not just psychologists who show tendencies toward essentialism (treating the mind as the same everywhere). Anthropological research on different cultures can fall pray to cultural essentialism – or the view that cultures are timeless, bounded, homogenous units. Where (human) nature is assumed to be universal, ‘culture,’ from a popular perspective, implies ‘whatever makes one different.’ Essentialized cultural differences have been used to justify the subordination of one cultural group to another and enforce assimilation or even genocide. (p. 406). Even when addressing questions of “difference” within cultural groups, social scientists may essentialize categories of differences, such as those between men and women or different racial or ethnic groups. Yet, “what it means to be a member of a racial or ethnic group or a man or a woman [or what it means to have a disability], is not simply an exemplar of a category, but is itself liable to shifting meaning and impact across our lives and context” (p. 405). When differences between cultures or categories are subjected to essentialists notions, “interventions” to aid a vulnerable group (or get rid of a deviant group) may do more harm than good. “But neuroanthropology can disrupt these folk models” (p.407) by highlighting neurocultural pathways and processes and the interactions between the brain, the environment, culture, and learning – in other words by presenting the encultured brain.
21 Comments
Edward Quinn
4/26/2016 01:55:05 pm
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Edward Quinn (2nd Response)
4/28/2016 07:12:46 pm
Our discussion in class was very useful for thinking about the field of neuroanthropology and what we mean by the term "neuroanthropological." It's clear that definite boundaries cannot be constructed to delineate the field, and I think the fact that the methods lag behind the theory is one reason why there cannot be boundaries for neuroanthropology at this point. With current methods, it seems possible to designate any study analyzing the brain and/or nervous system using any sort of peripheral biomarker as neuroanthropological. Once the methods catch up with the theory, neuroanthropology may look very different, and it may even start to take on a more definite shape with intellectual boundaries. I have no doubt that the methods will advance to point where neuroanthropologists can get much closer to observing and measuring "brains in the wild," at which point it would no longer make much sense to look at peripheral biomarkers. Instead, the field could really start to focus on the enculturation of the nervous system as it occurs in real life. An improved ability to directly observe and measure activity in the nervous system will generate a greater intellectual focus for the field of neuroanthropology.
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Jake Aronoff
4/26/2016 06:40:33 pm
I found numerous things interesting in this chapter:
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Jake Aronoff (2nd Post)
4/29/2016 03:07:45 pm
After further reflection during class on both Larry's article review as well as this chapter, I think it is important to always employ a non-essentialist view in neuroanthropology. As I thought about a feminist neuroanthropology, it made me concerned about essentializing gender. Just as Lende & Downey warn against viewing encultured brains as homogeneous within the same culture, I think it is also important to ensure future studies of the "gendered" brain do not essentialize and homogenize brains based on gender.
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Jake Aronoff (2nd Post Continued)
4/29/2016 04:19:55 pm
Another thought I had during our class discussion was with regard to the criticism of neuroanthropology being too careless about assertions regarding their research to the workings of the brain. I do find this criticism to have substance. However, I also think that in many ways actual brain scanning in order to make more specific and supported claims about the brain can be impractical in many cases, as anthropologists want to study "brains in the wild". In order to address this concern, it might be interesting and worthwhile to establish a neuroanthropology journal that would have both neuroscientists and anthropologists as reviewers. This would allow more dialog between the two disciplines, and it would give more credibility to assertions made by neuroanthropology regarding brain functioning, as their work would be reviewed and subjected to scrutiny by neuroscientists. This could also be beneficial for cultural neuroscience by (1) providing another avenue for cultural neuroscientists to publish their work, and (2) allowing anthropologists to review and critique assumptions or claims made by cultural neuroscientists regarding culture.
Catherine Manson
4/27/2016 08:47:20 am
I found this chapter to be interesting and somewhat helpful in reviewing what the key points of the earlier chapters were addressing. Early in the chapter Downey and Lende address that Neuroanthropology studies how culture can drive neural diversity; and that understanding this diversity can better the thinking in anthropology. They continue to address the many different approaches to studying and researching neuroanthropological questions.
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Issac
4/27/2016 09:06:45 am
The concluding chapter recaps several of the case studies we have seen throughout the book as well as provides a glimpse into what the future of Neuroanthropology may look like ; I for one am fairly optimistic about this future for several reasons.
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Issac 2nd post
5/4/2016 12:57:06 pm
I feel that a field like neuroanthropology is long over due and has been a long time coming. I mean to say that this combination of social sciences and hard sciences is inevitable and entirely necessary to overcome the individual weaknesses of both fields, however minor they may be. Anthropology is a little more specific because of the fields ability to produce rich and detailed ethnograpies which provide cultural knowledge that can be the basis of cross-cultural studies. All of these factors together point towards an interesting future for this interdisciplinary field.
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McCallie L. Smith III (Trip)
4/27/2016 09:30:48 am
This chapter of, The Encultured Brain, provided a good review and analysis of the chapters proceeding it and speaks to the nature and importance of nuroanthropological studies. The main editors, Lende and Downey, speak highly of the strengths that multidisciplinary studies offer. Since nuroanthropology is a sub-field that implements a good deal of multidisciplinary aspects it has provided many positive outcomes from the research that has been conducted and represented in the chapters of the Encultured Brain.
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McCallie L. Smith III (Trip) 2nd
5/4/2016 09:14:31 am
In reviewing this chapter it has the ability to make me reflect on the book as a whole, and how it has explained, and given examples of what nuroanthropology should and can be. Also, it makes me realize the immense amount of potential that exists in the field, or under the tent of nuroanthropology to conduct studies that could have a enormous positive impact on the lives of individuals around the world. Also, it shows and speaks to the fact that the field is still developing, and coming into its own.
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Amanda Oldani
4/27/2016 09:44:47 am
This chapter helped to review previous chapters and findings as well as provide some critical insight into neuroanthropology and the fields it draws from. I appreciated the discussion on past and current issues with essentialism, and I found it helpful to understand the issues because it provided me with more insight into current goals in neuroanthropology.
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Amanda Oldani
4/27/2016 04:13:58 pm
After our discussion in class, I think the future of neuroanthropology can really be enhanced by considering other perspectives, as we mentioned in class. I think Larry's article brings up important topics that are most likely an issue in plenty of other disciplines. I am highly interested in seeing what a feminist/queer/minority perspective could add to neuroanthropology.
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Kelly Likos
4/27/2016 09:48:47 am
Reading about the future of Neuroanthropology was very interesting, especially considering the age of this writing.
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Olivia Davis
4/27/2016 09:48:50 am
This chapter definitely brings up some of the problems with singular fields like psychology and neurology that don't take culture or the environment in which a person's identity and their neurological processes are being molded. The downside to not including these factors into studies is that most of the parts of the human mind and behavior spin on the axis of culture. To study one without considering the other is a great disservice to the integrity and validity of assumptions made in any field which is one of the reasons why a field such as neuroanthropology could be so important to the understanding of 'humanness' in its rawest form.
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Myra Barrett
4/27/2016 10:06:25 am
I really liked the section about neurocultural processes in this chapter. The laying out of how different models interact with each other really helped me to understand more how neuroscience can be applied to a variety of anthropological studies. I think that having a better understanding of how neuroscience can be applied to ethnography has made me more confident in evaluating the role the brain plays on a cultural level. Each of the case studies we looked at illustrated this idea in some way. In Dressler’s chapter, we saw how cultural consonance affects serotonin levels in the brain. We also explored the role of cultural mediators in PTSD. This disorder is traditionally seen on an individual level. The patient is treated and diagnosed according to a set of stipulated guidelines. However, Finley laid out the development of this disorder in a more cultural context. She argued for the role that culture plays in the manifestation of PTSD symptoms. I applaud the efforts of this book to combine neuroscience and anthropology in a convincing and reasonable way. Honestly, at the beginning of the semester I was worried about not being able to keep up. But the content of this book was presented in such a way that allowed me to see how neural processes and anthropological ideas along with methods of research fit together. I’m hopeful that the future of neuroanthropology will be a better understanding of how different facets of the human experience influence and are influenced by the brain. I believe that with new discoveries in neuroscience being made each day, neuroanthropology will only grow as a credible and valuable field of study.
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Myra
5/4/2016 03:10:34 pm
After last Wednesday's discussion, I thought about how many studies could be done that involve different points of view, whether they be feminist, racial, or queer. I love what neuroanthropology is contributing to different fields, and because it is a fairly new area of study, I think there are many possibilities open for study. I also wish we could have gotten further in the study we designed, as the topic seemed quite interesting. I thin overall, this class has taught me that there is a neurological component to almost every type of human behavior.
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Paige Ridley
4/27/2016 10:34:40 am
I really like this chapter as it deems to be very interesting when thinking about the future of Nueroanthropology. I really liked how Lende and Downey make the comment that “societies are complex phenomena; so are the brains that undergird them”.
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Paige Ridley
5/1/2016 07:11:37 pm
I think the future of Nueroanthropology is only going to continue to grow. The discussion in class was very insightful. I had never thought about the perspectives from a feminist/queer/minority before. However I feel that that being able to see through these lenses will propel Nueroanthropology forward as well as help us conduct ethnography in order to understand the different perspectives.
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Mike Jones
4/27/2016 11:00:15 am
Viewing this chapter gives a promosing look upon the future of neuroanthropological studies. The allowance of haveing this new field is opening potentials to getting true insight to the human mind and culture and their relationship. Although we as a species pride ourselves on the acqyisition of self awareness, it does not give us knowledge upon our self. With increasing break throughs in this field and the increaseing interconectivity of these different aspects of science and culutre will lead us as a whole to better understanding of our selves and our cultures.
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Jessica muzzo 2nd post
5/3/2016 10:47:42 pm
My favorite thing about Neuroanthropology is its fight against the man-as-island mentality pervading the western spirit. Culture not only affects the decisions you are likely to make, but the way in which you actually process the situation and come to a decision. Our current experience is, in some respects, the product of all our previous experiences, which are the products of other peoples experiences. The interplay between mind, genes and environment is extremely interesting, and the study of it remains fresh. Hopefully in the near future, more solid and replicatable methodology can be developed in order to understand the nuances of this interaction.
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4/7/2022 02:13:10 am
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AuthorThis blog is group authored by Dr. DeCaro and the students in his ANT 474/574: Neuroanthropology. Archives
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