A Nexus of Neural Mechanisms of Cooperation and Social Conformity: toward a Neuro-Cultural Interdependence Model

Increasing evidence links cultural influences on brain activity to various cognitive and affective processes, necessitating an integrative framework to account for the dynamic interplay between culture, behavior, and neural function. The mechanisms of cooperation and social conformity within culture exhibit variable interdependence across contexts, manifested by distinct neural patterns. To address the isolated examination of these mechanisms, we propose a NeuroCultural Interdependence Model delineating four modes (competitive interdependence, conditional interdependence, selective interdependence, communal interdependence) characterized by specific neural signatures and behavioral tendencies within cultural contexts. These modes represent varying degrees of interdependence, elucidating how individuals interact and rely upon others in their cultural milieu. The framework posits a direct linkage between cultural orientations and neural activity, offering a novel perspective on culture’s internalization and manifestation at the individual level, underscoring its embeddedness within neural processes influencing cognitive, affective, and behavioral inclinations in relation to others. Crucially, our proposed model highlights an isomorphic relationship between cultural orientations and their corresponding neural structures. It demonstrates that the mechanisms of cooperation and social conformity function concurrently at both the cultural and neural levels, revealing a direct parallel in how these elements operate. We conclude by providing recommendations for future elaboration and empirical validation of our model to be conducted using advanced neuroimaging techniques.