Brain scan can detect racists
A brain scan technique can identify potential racists among white people, according to new research.
As part of the study, 30 white volunteers were shown photographs of black individuals using a technique called functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) which maps neural activity.
The volunteers were then given a cognitive test after an actual interaction with a black male.
Researchers claim a burst of activity in the part of the brain that controls thoughts and behaviour was perceivable in participants with racist tendencies.
Scientists said activity in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex reflected volunteers’ attempts to suppress latent racism.
The scientists said white people with higher scores on a so-called “racial bias measure” experienced greater neural activity in response to the photographs of black males.
Dr Jennifer Richeson, assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, said: “We were surprised to find brain activity in response to faces of black individuals predicted how research participants performed on cognitive tasks after actual interracial interactions.”
“To my knowledge, this is the first study to use brain imaging data in tandem with more standard behavioural data to test a social psychological theory.”
The findings were published in the online edition of the journal Nature Neuroscience.
