Cultural Differences in Inhibitory Control: An ALE Meta-Analysis
Culture greatly influences our attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors, affecting how we communicate and make decisions. There is an ongoing debate regarding the belief that people from Eastern cultures possess greater self-control abilities when compared to people from Western cultures. In this study, we...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Brain Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/13/6/907 |
| _version_ | 1827738159648079872 |
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| author | Gioele Gavazzi Chiara Noferini Viola Benedetti Maria Cotugno Fabio Giovannelli Roberto Caldara Mario Mascalchi Maria Pia Viggiano |
| author_facet | Gioele Gavazzi Chiara Noferini Viola Benedetti Maria Cotugno Fabio Giovannelli Roberto Caldara Mario Mascalchi Maria Pia Viggiano |
| author_sort | Gioele Gavazzi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Culture greatly influences our attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors, affecting how we communicate and make decisions. There is an ongoing debate regarding the belief that people from Eastern cultures possess greater self-control abilities when compared to people from Western cultures. In this study, we conducted a meta-analysis using the Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE) algorithm to compare 30 studies (719 subjects, 373 foci) that used fMRI to investigate the performance in Go–Nogo and Stop Signal Tasks of participants from Western and/or Eastern countries. Our meta-analysis found differences between the networks activated in Eastern and Western culture participants. The right prefrontal cortex showed distinct patterns, with the Inferior Frontal gyrus more active in the Eastern group and the middle and superior frontal gyri more active in the Western group. Our findings suggest that Eastern culture subjects have a higher tendency to activate brain regions involved in proactive inhibitory control, while Western culture subjects rely more on reactive inhibitory brain regions during cognitive control tasks. This implies that proactive inhibition may play a crucial role in promoting the collective and interdependent behavior typical of Eastern cultures, while reactive inhibition may be more important for efficient cognitive control in subjects of Western cultures that prioritize individualism and independence. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:40:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3d3d43fff48c4deeb66b81e79c8f1e6b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3425 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:40:34Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Brain Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-3d3d43fff48c4deeb66b81e79c8f1e6b2023-11-18T09:36:12ZengMDPI AGBrain Sciences2076-34252023-06-0113690710.3390/brainsci13060907Cultural Differences in Inhibitory Control: An ALE Meta-AnalysisGioele Gavazzi0Chiara Noferini1Viola Benedetti2Maria Cotugno3Fabio Giovannelli4Roberto Caldara5Mario Mascalchi6Maria Pia Viggiano7Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child’s Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence, 50135 Florence, ItalyDepartment of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child’s Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence, 50135 Florence, ItalyDepartment of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child’s Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence, 50135 Florence, ItalyDepartment of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child’s Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence, 50135 Florence, ItalyDepartment of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child’s Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence, 50135 Florence, ItalyEye and Brain Mapping Laboratory (iBMLab), Department of Psychology, University of Fribourg, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland“Mario Serio” Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences, University of Florence, 50135 Florence, ItalyDepartment of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child’s Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence, 50135 Florence, ItalyCulture greatly influences our attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors, affecting how we communicate and make decisions. There is an ongoing debate regarding the belief that people from Eastern cultures possess greater self-control abilities when compared to people from Western cultures. In this study, we conducted a meta-analysis using the Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE) algorithm to compare 30 studies (719 subjects, 373 foci) that used fMRI to investigate the performance in Go–Nogo and Stop Signal Tasks of participants from Western and/or Eastern countries. Our meta-analysis found differences between the networks activated in Eastern and Western culture participants. The right prefrontal cortex showed distinct patterns, with the Inferior Frontal gyrus more active in the Eastern group and the middle and superior frontal gyri more active in the Western group. Our findings suggest that Eastern culture subjects have a higher tendency to activate brain regions involved in proactive inhibitory control, while Western culture subjects rely more on reactive inhibitory brain regions during cognitive control tasks. This implies that proactive inhibition may play a crucial role in promoting the collective and interdependent behavior typical of Eastern cultures, while reactive inhibition may be more important for efficient cognitive control in subjects of Western cultures that prioritize individualism and independence.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/13/6/907culturecultural differencesWestern cultureEastern cultureinhibitory controlright prefrontal cortex |
| spellingShingle | Gioele Gavazzi Chiara Noferini Viola Benedetti Maria Cotugno Fabio Giovannelli Roberto Caldara Mario Mascalchi Maria Pia Viggiano Cultural Differences in Inhibitory Control: An ALE Meta-Analysis Brain Sciences culture cultural differences Western culture Eastern culture inhibitory control right prefrontal cortex |
| title | Cultural Differences in Inhibitory Control: An ALE Meta-Analysis |
| title_full | Cultural Differences in Inhibitory Control: An ALE Meta-Analysis |
| title_fullStr | Cultural Differences in Inhibitory Control: An ALE Meta-Analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cultural Differences in Inhibitory Control: An ALE Meta-Analysis |
| title_short | Cultural Differences in Inhibitory Control: An ALE Meta-Analysis |
| title_sort | cultural differences in inhibitory control an ale meta analysis |
| topic | culture cultural differences Western culture Eastern culture inhibitory control right prefrontal cortex |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/13/6/907 |
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