Joan Chiao: Cultural neuroscience. Promise and progress

Neuroaesthetics | Symposium


Symposium im ZKM | Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie,
22.-24. November 2012
In Kooperation und mit Unterstützung der Gemeinnützigen
Hertie-Stiftung.


The study of culture and biology have historically been
stratified, however,
recent theoretical and methodological advances in cultural and
biological sciences provide novel opportunities for understanding
the nature and origin of
human diversity by bridging these gaps. Cultural neuroscience is
an emerging
interdisciplinary science that investigates cultural variation in
psychological, neural and genomic processes as a means of
articulating the bidirectional relationship of these processes
and their emergent properties.
Here I will discuss how cultural and genetic diversity affect
mind, brain and behavior across multiple timescales.
Specifically, in this talk, I will review recent evidence
elucidating the effect of cultural values, practices, and
beliefs, such as individualism-collectivism, racial
identification, and preference for social hierarchy, on brain and
behavior. I will also present evidence for culture-gene
coevolution of individualism-collectivism and the serotonin
transporter gene (5-HTTLPR).
Finally, I will examine the implications of cultural neuroscience
research for addressing population health disparities and public
policy across the globe.


Dr. Joan Y. Chiao is an Assistant Professor in the Department of
Psychology
at Northwestern University. She received her Ph.D. in Psychology
from Harvard University in 2006 studying social psychology and
cognitive neuroscience.
Her main research interests include cultural neuroscience of
emotion
and social interaction, social and affective neuroscience across
development,
social dominance and affiliation, and integrating psychology and
neuroscience
research with public policy and population health issues. Chiao
currently serves on the board of several journals including
Culture and Brain, NeuroImage, Journal of Experimental
Psychology: General, Social Neuroscience, Frontiers in Cultural
Psychology.
From 2009 to 2010, she served as editor for an edited volume of
Progress
in Brain Research on cultural neuroscience called Cultural
Neuroscience: Cultural Influences on Brain Function and a special
issue on cultural neuroscience in Social Cognitive and Affective
Neuroscience. Dr. Chiao is a recipient of funding from the
National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and Technology. In
2011, she was named a Rising Star by the American Psychological
Society and received a NIMH Early Career International Travel
Award.