Conservatives' Brains Have Larger "Fear Center"

The Christianists and and religious extremist wingnuts are quick to deny that sexual orientation is something inborn and insist on claiming that gays have "chosen" a "lifestyle." Now science may be about to have a last laugh on the crazies and we'll see if they are quick to admit that perhaps their conservative lunacy is something that they can't help. And that, therefore, they are not merely simply paranoid, nasty bigots. Yep, a new study suggests that conservatives suffer from an inborn fear factor, if you will, that causes them to be fearful of far more than normal people. If the premise is true, then Maggie Gallagher, Tony Perkins, Robert Knight and similar hate merchants must have received a double or triple dose of the brain structure phenomenon. As Salon is reporting, University College London researchers say brains of the right-leaning have big amygdala, small anterior cingulate - the centers of the brain that control fear and courage and optimism, respectively. Here are some highlights:
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A study to be published next year at University College London suggests that conservative brains are structured differently than the brains of other people. The investigation, led by Geraint Rees, focused on 92 individuals in the U.K. -- 90 students and two members of Parliament.
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Specifically, the research shows that people with conservative tendencies have a larger amygdala and a smaller anterior cingulate than other people. The amygdala -- typically thought of as the "primitive brain" -- is responsible for reflexive impulses, like fear. The anterior cingulate is thought to be responsible for courage and optimism. This one-two punch could be responsible for many of the anecdotal claims that conservatives "think differently" from others.
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Since only adults were included in the investigation, researchers were unable to determine if cerebral physiology drives politics or if political beliefs change the brain. A previous University of California study suggests the former is possible, isolating a so-called "liberal gene" -- the neurotransmitter DRD4 -- responsible for an increased receptiveness to novel ideas.
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[S]some conservative tweeters have even tried to claim that the enlarged amygdala just means that conservatives "have bigger brains." Of course, the first claim begs the question, and the second ignores the shrunken anterior cingulate. While the extent of the differences is still unclear, the biology of politics has begun to confirm that those differences are real.

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So the next time a fundy is going off, just tell him/her that they suffer from a congenital defect.