Neuroanthropology

Esplorazioni neurogiuridiche tra antichità e modernità (Neurolegal Explorations between Antiquity and Modernity)

by Andrea Colorio

published in "Atti dell´Accademia Roveretana degli Agiati", a. 261, 2011, ser. IX, vol. I, B, pp. 43-93.

The object of this paper, which ranges over subjects such as law, neuroscience, mirror neurons, modularism and... more The object of this paper, which ranges over subjects such as law, neuroscience, mirror neurons, modularism and language, is the study of the evolutionary origin of law. This is a question at the margins of the more general field of neurolaw, already prominent at the international level but still confined, in Italy, to niche legal elaborations.

Enculturing brains through patterned practices

by Stefan Beck

Co-authored with Andreas Roepstorff and Joerg Niewoehner; published in Neural Networks, 2010 Oct-Nov; 23(8-9):pp. 1051-9

-> http://www-staff.informatik.uni-frankfurt.de/asa/seminare/SemSS11/Material/Roepstorff_2010_Neural-Networks.pdf

Recent findings in neuroscience have shown differential patterns in brain activity in response to similar stimuli and... more Recent findings in neuroscience have shown differential patterns in brain activity in response to similar stimuli and activities across cultural and social differences. This calls for a framework to understand how such differences may come to be implemented in brains and neurons. Based on strands of research in social anthropology, we argue that human practices are characterized by particular patterns, and that participating in these patterns orders how people perceive and act in particular group- and context-specific ways. This then leads to a particular patterning of neuronal processes that may be detected using e.g. brain imaging methods. We illustrate this through (a) a classical example of phoneme perception (b) recent work on performance in experimental game play. We then discuss these findings in the light of predictive models of brain function. We argue that a 'culture as patterned practices' approach obviates a rigid nature-culture distinction, avoids the problems involved in conceptualizing 'culture' as a homogenous grouping variable, and suggests that participating as a competent participant in particular practices may affect both the subjective (first person) experience and (third person) objective measures of behavior and brain activity.

Neuroanthropology or simply anthropology? Going experimental as method, as object of study, and as research aesthetic

by Andreas Roepstorff

Roepstorff, A., & Frith, C. (2012). Neuroanthropology or simply anthropology? Going experimental as method, as object of study, and as research aesthetic. Anthropological Theory, 12(1), 101–111. doi:10.1177/1463499612436467

Neuroanthropology is a new kid on the academic block. It seems to offer a methodological and conceptual synthesis,... more Neuroanthropology is a new kid on the academic block. It seems to offer a methodological and conceptual synthesis, which bridges current fault lines within anthropology, both as discipline and as departments. We are not convinced that it will deliver on these grounds. However, it has the potential to open up novel ways to do and think ‘experimental anthropology’, as a method, as an object of study and as a research aesthetic. This approach, we argue, is probably not neuroanthropological – it may simply be anthropological.

Aesthetic concepts, perceptual learning, and linguistic enculturation: Considerations from Wittgenstein, language, and music

by Adam Croom

Croom, A. M. (2012). Aesthetic concepts, perceptual learning, and linguistic enculturation: Considerations from Wittgenstein, language, and music. Integrative Psychological & Behavioral Science. 46, 90-117.
http://www.springerlink.com/content/h479617n61n78904/

Aesthetic non-cognitivists deny that aesthetic statements express genuinely aesthetic beliefs and instead hold that... more Aesthetic non-cognitivists deny that aesthetic statements express genuinely aesthetic beliefs and instead hold that they work primarily to express something non-cognitive, such as attitudes of approval or disapproval, or desire. Non-cognitivists deny that aesthetic statements express aesthetic beliefs because they deny that there are aesthetic features in the world for aesthetic beliefs to represent. Their assumption, shared by scientists and theorists of mind alike, was that language-users possess cognitive mechanisms with which to objectively grasp abstract rules fixed independently of human responses, and that cognizers are thereby capable of grasping rules for the correct application of aesthetic concepts without relying on evaluation or enculturation. However, in this article I use Wittgenstein’s rule-following considerations to argue that psychological theories grounded upon this so-called objective model of rule-following fail to adequately account for concept acquisition and mastery. I argue that this is because linguistic enculturation, and the perceptual learning that’s often involved, influences and enables the mastery of aesthetic concepts. I argue that part of what’s involved in speaking aesthetically is to belong to a cultural practice of making sense of things aesthetically, and that it’s within a socio-linguistic community, and that community’s practices, that such aesthetic sense can be made intelligible.

Glossolalia is associated with differences in biomarkers of arousal and stress among Apostolic Pentecostals

by Christopher Lynn

Co-authored with JJ Paris, CA Frye, LM Schell. In press. Religion, Brain & Behavior.

The influence of glossolalia or “speaking in tongues” on biological stress and arousal is examined in a sample of... more The influence of glossolalia or “speaking in tongues” on biological stress and arousal is examined in a sample of Apostolic Pentecostals.  Glossolalia is a form of dissociation considered by Pentecostals as possession by the Holy Spirit.  Dissociation is a psychological term for partitioning of awareness and widely held to moderate stress, yet this has been difficult to affirm in culturally-embedded situations.  We sought to determine if glossolalic dissociation is associated with biomarkers of stress and arousal (salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase, respectively) on a religious service and a non-service day among 52 participants.  We used mixed qualitative and quantitative methods to group participants as high- and low-glossolalists for preliminary comparisons and by status within their respective churches for regression analyses.  Results indicate a significant influence of two glossolalia indicators on cortisol and alpha-amylase on both days, in addition to a statistically significant though not robust interaction effect between lifetime glossolalia experience and church status on the non-service day.  Combined, these data suggest glossolalia experience is associated with increased physiological stress during worship and reduced stress and arousal beyond the worship context.

“The Brain in Culture and Culture in the Brain: A Review of Core Issues in Neuroanthropology”

by E Douglas Lewis

2009.
Co-authored with J. F. Domínguez-Duque (University of Melbourne), R. Turner (Max Planck Institute, Leipzig) and G. Egan (Howard Florey Institute, Melbourne),
In J. Y. Chiao (ed.), Cultural Neuroscience: Cultural Influences on Brain Function. Progress in Brain Research Vol. 178: 43–64. Amsterdam: Elsevier B.V.

Neuroanthropology is a new field of research that can make two distinctive contributions to our understanding of the... more Neuroanthropology is a new field of research that can make two distinctive contributions to our understanding of the brain-culture nexus. The first contribution has to do with the question of how socially shared meanings and practices are reflected in brain function and structure — the culture in the brain problem. Neuroanthropology’s second contribution relates to the neural processes that generate socially shared meanings and practices — the brain in culture problem. Research in cultural neuroscience has focused on the first question while research in social neuroscience has a bearing on the second. A neuroanthropological perspective is vital to integrate these two most important dimensions of the human condition. In this paper we review research from cultural anthropology, primatology, and developmental psychology, in addition to social and cultural neuroscience, that deals with these two core
neuroanthropological issues. Regarding the brain in culture problem, the review reveals that relational recoding is the basis of a host of cognitive functions that enable the formation of socially shared meanings and practices. The review also shows that relational recoding corresponds to the processing style
characteristic of the prefrontal cortex (PFC). With respect to the culture in the brain problem, the most salient finding is the extent and breadth of the influence of culture on the brain: literally all brain areas, cortical and subcortical, respond to regularities in the cultural stream of experience. Furthermore, culture not only shapes preexisting patterns of neural activity but it may also determine whether a pattern is at all present. In addition to influencing brain function culture also changes the structure of the brain. The review finally indicates that cultural regularities can modulate cognitive function both implicitly and
explicitly. Overall, the PFC can be regarded as the structure that establishes relationships between things and events that are represented in the different areas distributed across the brain. These areas become in this manner more readily available for modulation or constitution by (cultural) experience. However, the
PFC is the structure that stands first to be modified or constituted by cultural experience as it is the structure that lays culture’s foundations.

‘Neuroanthropology: A Humanistic Science for the Study of the Culture-Brain Nexus’

by E Douglas Lewis

2009
Co-authored with J. F. Domínguez-Duque (University of Melbourne), R. Turner (Max Planck Institute, Leipzig) and G. Egan (Howard Florey Institute, Melbourne).
Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (SCAN).
Oxford: Oxford University Press Journals.

We argue that a combined anthropology/neuroscience field of enquiry can make a significant and distinctive... more We argue that a combined anthropology/neuroscience field of enquiry can make a significant and distinctive contribution to the study of the relationship between culture and the brain. This field, which can appropriately be termed as neuroanthropology, is conceived of as being complementary to and mutually informative with social and cultural neuroscience. We start by providing an introduction to the culture concept in anthropology. We then present a detailed characterization of neuroanthropology and its methods and how they relate to the anthropological understanding of culture. The field is described as a humanistic science, that is, a field of enquiry founded on the perceived epistemological and methodological interdependence of science and the humanities. We also provide examples that illustrate the proposed methodological model for neuroanthropology. We conclude with a discussion about specific contributions the field can make to the study of the culture–brain nexus.

Modes of Transmission: Traditional West Sumatran and Contemporary West Javanese Practices of Indigenous Martial Arts

by Paul Mason

"In Mohd Anis Md Nor, Patricia Matusky, Tan Sooi Beng, Jacqueline-Pugh Kitingan & Felicidad Prudente (ed.) assisted by Hanafi Hussin. Hybridity in the Performing Arts of Southeast Asia: Proceedings of the 1st Symposium of the ICTM Study Group on Performing Arts of Southeast Asia. Kuala Lumpur: Nusantara Performing Arts Research Center (NusPARC) and Dept. of Southeast Asian Studies University of Malaya, 2011."

The current study compares traditional practices of fight-dancing in West Sumatra with the progressive practices of... more The current study compares traditional practices of fight-dancing in West Sumatra with the progressive practices of fight-dancing in West Java. The desire to study instances of fight-dancing where both music and movement come together in performance meant that the research methodology had to be adapted to each location. Among the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra, music and martial arts do not come together except in performances for local festivals and religious events. Among the Sundanese of West Java, music and martial arts can be practiced together and are often featured together in regional, national and international competitions, as well as at local festivals and religious events. Research in West Sumatra demanded constant travel to see performances in various villages, while research in West Java permitted a more centralised fieldsite in Bandung.

From a neuroanthropological perspective, this research was motivated by a desire to understand the co-evolutionary and co-developmental relationship between brains and culture. Neuroanthropology is a field of research concerned with the reiterative causality between brains, culture and the environment. Learning fight-dancing alters neural processes inside the brain as practitioners attempt to acquire new abilities. This act of learning involves physiological, perceptual, and cognitive changes in the student’s body. Concomitantly, teaching fight-dancing involves changes in cultural content so that student practitioners can more easily acquire the music and movement. Those changes that make fight-dancing more easy to be acquired enable the art to be taught to a larger number of students at any one time. Neural changes are cumulative and transformative within the lifetime of individuals. Cultural changes are cumulative and transformative across successive instances of transmission.

The Neuroanthropology of Non-Verbal Communication

by Paul Mason

"abstract published in 'Language, Culture and Mind: Integrating perspectives and methodologies in the study of language", 2006, pp. 85-86"

Diritto e cervello: verso le nuove frontiere del neurodiritto (Law and Brain: Exploring the New Frontiers of Neurolaw)

by Andrea Colorio

published in i-lex, rivista di scienze giuridiche, scienze cognitive ed intelligenza artificiale, 10, 2010

Cittadinanza, proprietà terriera e horoi di garanzia nell´antica Atene (Citizenship, Land Property and Security Horoi in Ancient Athens)

by Andrea Colorio

published in "Derecho, persona y ciudadanía: una experiencia jurídica comparada", Madrid, Marcial Pons, 2010

Within an investigation of some of the most relevant historical-juridical themes of the Greek world, this paper deals... more Within an investigation of some of the most relevant historical-juridical themes of the Greek world, this paper deals with an analysis of specific aspects connected to the complex relationship existing between the right of Citizenship in Classical Athens and the political-religious participation in the polis guaranteed by the right of Ownership of Land. After a brief socio-economic overview of Athenian everyday life, it is here attempted to approach the important issue of real securities, a significant capital creation mechanism which, notwithstanding their key role within the polis commercial economy, was unavailable to metics. In this light, the nature of security horoi is reinterpreted with special regard to the deep social and sacred reasons which facilitated and sustained their development and spread.

Seeing With a'Sideways Glance': Visuomotor'Knowing'and the Plasticity of Perception

by Greg Downey

2005. “Educating the Eyes: Biocultural Anthropology and Physical Education.” Anthropology in Action: Journal for Applied Anthropology in Policy and Practice 12 (2): 56-71.

One can search anthropological studies of education for references to physical education long and hard without finding... more One can search anthropological studies of education for references to physical education long and hard without finding many. In spite of its invisibility, physical education—sports, games, dance, drills, and other bodily activities—is pervasive cross-culturally, not only in formal schooling, but also in training of all sorts, such as religious orders, military indoctrination, and social initiation. Many factors likely contribute to the invisibility, but socio-cultural anthropologists often seem to neglect bodily variability because they fear that even to entertain discussions of physiology invites biological determinism. Whatever the reasons for the neglect, the effects are detrimental to socio-cultural anthropology, to theorizing embodiment, to applying our discipline to education and human development, and to engaging in public debates about the variability of human physiology (cf. Downey 2005a).

'Practice Without Theory': a Neuroanthropological Perspective on Embodied Learning

by Greg Downey

2010. For a special issue “Making Knowledge”, Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 16(s1): S22-S40.

This paper, drawing on research on skill acquisition and sports training, asks two questions. First, how does the... more This paper, drawing on research on skill acquisition and sports training, asks two questions. First, how does the mimetic channel function and thus limit what can be acquired by bodily enculturation? Second, given that it was acquired through imitation, what must be the nature of the resulting bodily knowledge? These questions are addressed through a close examination of movement education, especially its neurological, psychological, and interactional dynamics in the Afro-Brazilian art capoeira. The study of embodied knowledge and its development in bodily practices suggests that gaining bodily skills requires more than ‘knowledge’, involving changes in physiology, perception, comportment, and behaviour patterns in unsystematic, diverse modes. Embodied knowledge from this perspective appears more complex, less systematic or susceptible to structural account, than typically modelled.jrai_1608 22..

Cultural Variation in Elite Athletes: Does Elite Cognitive-Perceptual Skill Always Converge?

by Greg Downey

2010.  In W. Christensen, E. Schier, and J. Sutton, eds.  ASCS09: Proceedings of the 9th Conference of the Australasian Society for Cognitive Science (pp. 72-80).  Sydney, Australia: Macquarie Centre for Cognitive Studies.  doi: 10.5096/ASCS200912

Anthropologists have not participated extensively in the cognitive science synthesis for a host of reasons, including... more Anthropologists have not participated extensively in the cognitive science synthesis for a host of reasons, including internal conflicts in the discipline and profound reservations about the ways that cultural differences have been modeled in psychology, neuroscience, and other contributors to cognitive science. This paper proposes a skills-based model for culture that overcomes some of the problems inherent in the treatment of culture as shared information. Athletes offer excellent cases studies for how skill acquisition, like enculturation, affects the human nervous system. In addition, cultural differences in playing styles of the same sport, such as distinctive ways of playing rugby, demonstrate how varying solution strategies to similar athletic problems produce distinctive skill profiles.

Throwing Like a Brazilian: On Ineptness and a Skill-shaped Body.

by Greg Downey

2010.  “Throwing Like a Brazilian: On Ineptness and a Skill-shaped Body.”  In Anthropology of Sport and Human Movement.  Robert Sands, ed.  Pp. 297-326.  Lexington Books (Rowman & Littlefield).