{"slug": "brain-scans-of-authoritarians-show-reduced-grey-matter-in-regions-for-empathy", "title": "Brain scans of authoritarians show reduced grey matter in regions for empathy and social reasoning", "summary": "Researchers at Spain's University of Zaragoza scanned the brains of 100 young adults and found that right-wing authoritarians have reduced grey matter in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, a region linked to empathy and social reasoning. The study, published in Neuroscience, suggests structural brain differences associated with authoritarian beliefs across the political spectrum.", "body_md": "A [study published in Neuroscience](https://futurism.com/neoscope/authoritarian-brain-scans) by researchers at Spain's University of Zaragoza scanned the brains of 100 young adults and found structural differences in those who hold authoritarian beliefs — on both the left and the right. Right-wing authoritarians had lower grey matter volume in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, a region involved in understanding other people's thoughts and perspectives. —\n\nThe post [Brain scans of authoritarians show reduced grey matter in regions for empathy and social reasoning](https://boingboing.net/2026/06/19/brain-scans-of-authoritarians-show-reduced-grey-matter-in-regions-for-empathy-and-social-reasoning.html) appeared first on [Boing Boing](https://boingboing.net).", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/brain-scans-of-authoritarians-show-reduced-grey-matter-in-regions-for-empathy", "canonical_source": "https://boingboing.net/2026/06/19/brain-scans-of-authoritarians-show-reduced-grey-matter-in-regions-for-empathy-and-social-reasoning.html", "published_at": "2026-06-19 18:40:09+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-19 20:12:35.737323+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["neural-networks", "ai-research"], "entities": ["University of Zaragoza", "Neuroscience", "Boing Boing"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/brain-scans-of-authoritarians-show-reduced-grey-matter-in-regions-for-empathy", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/brain-scans-of-authoritarians-show-reduced-grey-matter-in-regions-for-empathy.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/brain-scans-of-authoritarians-show-reduced-grey-matter-in-regions-for-empathy.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/brain-scans-of-authoritarians-show-reduced-grey-matter-in-regions-for-empathy.jsonld"}}