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Kokorikou DS, Sarigiannidis I, Fiore VG, Parkin B, Hopkins A, El-Deredy W, Dilley L, Moutoussis M. Testing hypotheses about the harm that capitalism causes to the mind and brain: a theoretical framework for neuroscience research. FRONTIERS IN SOCIOLOGY 2023; 8:1030115. [PMID: 37404338 PMCID: PMC10315660 DOI: 10.3389/fsoc.2023.1030115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2023] [Accepted: 05/30/2023] [Indexed: 07/06/2023]
Abstract
In this paper, we will attempt to outline the key ideas of a theoretical framework for neuroscience research that reflects critically on the neoliberal capitalist context. We argue that neuroscience can and should illuminate the effects of neoliberal capitalism on the brains and minds of the population living under such socioeconomic systems. Firstly, we review the available empirical research indicating that the socio-economic environment is harmful to minds and brains. We, then, describe the effects of the capitalist context on neuroscience itself by presenting how it has been influenced historically. In order to set out a theoretical framework that can generate neuroscientific hypotheses with regards to the effects of the capitalist context on brains and minds, we suggest a categorization of the effects, namely deprivation, isolation and intersectional effects. We also argue in favor of a neurodiversity perspective [as opposed to the dominant model of conceptualizing neural (mal-)functioning] and for a perspective that takes into account brain plasticity and potential for change and adaptation. Lastly, we discuss the specific needs for future research as well as a frame for post-capitalist research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danae S. Kokorikou
- Psychoanalysis Unit, Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Ioannis Sarigiannidis
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Vincenzo G. Fiore
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States
| | - Beth Parkin
- Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, University of Westminster, London, United Kingdom
| | - Alexandra Hopkins
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Wael El-Deredy
- Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ingeniería en Salud, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Laura Dilley
- Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
| | - Michael Moutoussis
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, London, United Kingdom
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