TY - JOUR
T1 - Interdependent self-construal predicts increased gray matter volume of scene processing regions in the brain
AU - Yu, Qinggang
AU - King, Anthony P.
AU - Yoon, Carolyn
AU - Liberzon, Israel
AU - Schaefer, Stacey M.
AU - Davidson, Richard J.
AU - Kitayama, Shinobu
PY - 2021/4
Y1 - 2021/4
N2 - Interdependent self-construal (SC) is thought to lead to a more holistic cognitive style that emphasizes the processing of the background scene of a focal object. At present, little is known about whether the structural properties of the brain might underlie this functional relationship. Here, we examined the gray matter (GM) volume of three cortical regions involved in scene processing – a cornerstone of contextual processing. Study 1 tested 78 European American non-student adults and found that interdependent (vs. independent) SC predicts higher GM volume in the parahippocampal place area (PPA), one of the three target regions. Testing both European American and East Asian college students (total N = 126), Study 2 replicated this association. Moreover, the GM volume of all the three target regions was greater for East Asians than for European Americans. Our findings suggest that there is a structural neural underpinning for the cultural variation in cognitive style.
AB - Interdependent self-construal (SC) is thought to lead to a more holistic cognitive style that emphasizes the processing of the background scene of a focal object. At present, little is known about whether the structural properties of the brain might underlie this functional relationship. Here, we examined the gray matter (GM) volume of three cortical regions involved in scene processing – a cornerstone of contextual processing. Study 1 tested 78 European American non-student adults and found that interdependent (vs. independent) SC predicts higher GM volume in the parahippocampal place area (PPA), one of the three target regions. Testing both European American and East Asian college students (total N = 126), Study 2 replicated this association. Moreover, the GM volume of all the three target regions was greater for East Asians than for European Americans. Our findings suggest that there is a structural neural underpinning for the cultural variation in cognitive style.
KW - Cultural difference
KW - Parahippocampal place area
KW - Scene processing
KW - Self-construal
KW - Voxel-based morphometry
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85101856647&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85101856647&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2021.108050
DO - 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2021.108050
M3 - Article
C2 - 33592270
AN - SCOPUS:85101856647
VL - 161
JO - Biological Psychology
JF - Biological Psychology
SN - 0301-0511
M1 - 108050
ER -