Title
Neural basis of cultural influence on self-representation.
Abstract
Culture affects the psychological structure of self and results in two distinct types of self-representation (Western independent self and East Asian interdependent self). However, the neural basis of culture–self interaction remains unknown. We used fMRI to measured brain activity from Western and Chinese subjects who judged personal trait adjectives regarding self, mother or a public person. We found that the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) showed stronger activation in self- than other-judgment conditions for both Chinese and Western subjects. However, relative to other-judgments, mother-judgments activated MPFC in Chinese but not in Western subjects. Our findings suggest that Chinese individuals use MPFC to represent both the self and the mother whereas Westerners use MPFC to represent exclusively the self, providing neuroimaging evidence that culture shapes the functional anatomy of self-representation.
Year
DOI
Venue
2007
10.1016/j.neuroimage.2006.08.047
NeuroImage
Keywords
Field
DocType
Culture,fMRI,MPFC,Self
Developmental psychology,Self representation,Trait,Prefrontal cortex,Cognitive psychology,Psychology,Brain activity and meditation,Self,Anterior cingulate cortex,Neuroimaging,Cultural neuroscience
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
34
3
1053-8119
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
24
1.87
3
Authors
4
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Ying Zhu15613.42
L. Zhang230536.88
Jin Fan316116.56
Shihui Han413218.96