--- title: "16 Frontal Cortex Quotes By Robert M. Sapolsky" description: "16 Frontal Cortex quotes by Robert M. Sapolsky. Plus more from Robert M. Sapolsky and more Frontal Cortex sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c96/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_age_the-frontal-cortex-doesn-t-even-fully-de_1029293.png" --- > [The frontal cortex doesn't even fully develop until age 25, which is wild!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/the-frontal-cortex-doesn-t-even-fully-develop-until-age-25-which-is/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c96/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_age_the-frontal-cortex-doesn-t-even-fully-de_1029293.png) > [It's great to have a buff frontal cortex to do that harder thing - for example, help a person in need rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/it-s-great-to-have-a-buff-frontal-cortex-to-do-that-harder-thing-for/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_buff_it-s-great-to-have-a-buff-frontal-cortex_2085715.png) > [The frontal cortex is an incredibly interesting part of the brain - ours is proportionately bigger and/or more complex than in any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/the-frontal-cortex-is-an-incredibly-interesting-part-of-the-brain/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_bigger_the-frontal-cortex-is-an-incredibly-inte_2276817.png) > [What does the frontal cortex do? Gratification postponement, executive function, long-term planning, and impulse control. Basically, it makes you do the harder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/what-does-the-frontal-cortex-do-gratification-postponement-executive/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67b/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_doe_what-does-the-frontal-cortex-do-gratific_3167232.png) > [“THE DELAYED MATURATION of the frontal cortex suggests an obvious scenario, namely that early in adolescence the frontal cortex has fewer neurons,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/the-delayed-maturation-of-the-frontal-cortex-suggests-an-obvious/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e7/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_youth_the-delayed-maturation-of-the-frontal-co_1298457.png) > [But often, it's easier to resist temptation with distraction, or to be so inculcated in doing the right thing that it's automatic,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/but-often-it-s-easier-to-resist-temptation-with-distraction-or-to-be/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/703/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_can-do_but-often-it-s-easier-to-resist-temptati_408030.png) > [“probably the most important fact about genetics and culture is the delayed maturation of the frontal cortex—the genetic programming for the young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/probably-the-most-important-fact-about-genetics-and-culture-is-the/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/035/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_biology_probably-the-most-important-fact-about-g_463386.jpg) > [“how acute stress strengthens connectivity between the frontal cortex and motoric areas, while weakening frontal-hippocampal connections; the result is decision making that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/how-acute-stress-strengthens-connectivity-between-the-frontal-cortex/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee2/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_decision-making_how-acute-stress-strengthens-connectivit_1255094.jpg) > [“Most broadly, the PFC chooses between conflicting options—Coke or Pepsi; blurting out what you really think or restraining yourself; pulling the trigger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/most-broadly-the-pfc-chooses-between-conflicting-options-coke-or/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30e/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_decision-making_most-broadly-the-pfc-chooses-between-con_146894.jpg) > [“What does the frontal cortex do? Its list of expertise includes working memory, executive function (organizing knowledge strategically, and then initiating an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/what-does-the-frontal-cortex-do-its-list-of-expertise-includes/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9e/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_frontal-cortex_what-does-the-frontal-cortex-do-its-list_2701072.png) > [“So if whites see a black face shown at a subliminal speed, the amygdala activates.10 But if the face is shown long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/so-if-whites-see-a-black-face-shown-at-a-subliminal-speed-the/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94b/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_black-face_so-if-whites-see-a-black-face-shown-at-a_1244754.png) > [“We process emotionally salient information more rapidly and automatically, but with less accuracy. Frontal function—working memory, impulse control, executive decision making, risk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/we-process-emotionally-salient-information-more-rapidly-and/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f07/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_decision-making_we-process-emotionally-salient-informati_123615.jpg) > [“Damasio has produced an influential theory about emotion-laden decision making, rooted in the philosophies of Hume and William James; this will soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/damasio-has-produced-an-influential-theory-about-emotion-laden/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e38/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_decision-making_damasio-has-produced-an-influential-theo_1598435.png) > [“The brain is heavily influenced by genes. But from birth through young adulthood, the part of the human brain that most defines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/the-brain-is-heavily-influenced-by-genes-but-from-birth-through-young/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/521/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_brain_the-brain-is-heavily-influenced-by-genes_2884874.png) > [“Diallo, a West African immigrant in New York, matched a description of a rapist. Four white officers questioned him, and when the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/diallo-a-west-african-immigrant-in-new-york-matched-a-description-of/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/626/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_cortex_diallo-a-west-african-immigrant-in-new-y_3127502.jpg) > [“Work by Martha Farah of the University of Pennsylvania, Tom Boyce of UCSF, and others demonstrates something outrageous: By age five, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/work-by-martha-farah-of-the-university-of-pennsylvania-tom-boyce-of/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/879/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_children_work-by-martha-farah-of-the-university-o_154147.png) ## More by Robert M. Sapolsky > [“Secure-attachment 7Rs show more generosity than average. Thus 7R has something to do with generosity—but its effect is entirely context dependent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/secure-attachment-7rs-show-more-generosity-than-average-thus-7r-has/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [But if you get chronically, psychosocially stressed, you're going to compromise your health. So, essentially, we've evolved to be smart enough to make ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/but-if-you-get-chronically-psychosocially-stressed-you-re-going-to/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [“Finally, for the same criminal conviction, the more stereotypically Af-rican a black individual’s facial features, the longer the sentence.15 In contrast, juries view black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/finally-for-the-same-criminal-conviction-the-more-stereotypically-af/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [“So testosterone does subtle things to behavior. Nonetheless, this doesn’t tell us much because everything can be interpreted every which way. Testosterone increases anxiety—you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/so-testosterone-does-subtle-things-to-behavior-nonetheless-this-doesn/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [“pain makes aggressive people more aggressive, while doing the opposite to unaggressive individuals.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/pain-makes-aggressive-people-more-aggressive-while-doing-the-opposite/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [“Thus, for our purposes, genes aren’t about inevitability. Instead they’re about context-dependent tendencies, propensities, potentials, and vulnerabilities. All embedded in the fabric of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/thus-for-our-purposes-genes-aren-t-about-inevitability-instead-they/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [“If we accept that there will always be sides, it’s a nontrivial to-do list item to always be on the side of angels. Distrust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/if-we-accept-that-there-will-always-be-sides-it-s-a-nontrivial-to-do/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [“In other words, the more genomically complex the organism, the larger the percentage of the genome devoted to gene regulation by the environment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/in-other-words-the-more-genomically-complex-the-organism-the-larger/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [“The subject of one experiment is a rat that receives mild electric shocks (roughly equivalent to the static shock you might get from scuffing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/the-subject-of-one-experiment-is-a-rat-that-receives-mild-electric/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [“No brain region is an island, and the formation of circuits connecting far-flung brain regions is crucial—how else can the frontal cortex use its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/no-brain-region-is-an-island-and-the-formation-of-circuits-connecting/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [“We process emotionally salient information more rapidly and automatically, but with less accuracy. Frontal function—working memory, impulse control, executive decision making, risk assessment, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/we-process-emotionally-salient-information-more-rapidly-and/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [“Most broadly, the PFC chooses between conflicting options—Coke or Pepsi; blurting out what you really think or restraining yourself; pulling the trigger or not.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/most-broadly-the-pfc-chooses-between-conflicting-options-coke-or/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [“One stretch of the gene is repeated a variable number of times, and the version with seven repeats (the “7R” form) produces a receptor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/one-stretch-of-the-gene-is-repeated-a-variable-number-of-times-and/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [“some people always get more than their share of equality than others”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/some-people-always-get-more-than-their-share-of-equality-than-others/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [It's probably even the case that if you stoked up some Buddhist monks with tons of testosterone, they'd become wildly competitive as to who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/it-s-probably-even-the-case-that-if-you-stoked-up-some-buddhist-monks/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frontal-cortex/robert-m-sapolsky/#itemlist", "name": "16 Frontal Cortex Quotes By Robert M. Sapolsky", "numberOfItems": 16, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The frontal cortex doesn't even fully develop until age 25, which is wild!", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert M. 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Sapolsky" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/it-s-great-to-have-a-buff-frontal-cortex-to-do-that-harder-thing-for/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_buff_it-s-great-to-have-a-buff-frontal-cortex_2085715.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_buff_it-s-great-to-have-a-buff-frontal-cortex_2085715.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_buff_it-s-great-to-have-a-buff-frontal-cortex_2085715.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's great to have a buff frontal cortex to do that harder thing - for example, help a person in need rather…” — Robert M. 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Gratification postponement, executive function, long-term planning, and impulse control. Basically, it makes you do the harder thing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert M. Sapolsky" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/what-does-the-frontal-cortex-do-gratification-postponement-executive/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67b/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_doe_what-does-the-frontal-cortex-do-gratific_3167232.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67b/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_doe_what-does-the-frontal-cortex-do-gratific_3167232.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67b/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_doe_what-does-the-frontal-cortex-do-gratific_3167232.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What does the frontal cortex do? Gratification postponement, executive function, long-term planning, and…” — Robert M. 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Sapolsky" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/the-delayed-maturation-of-the-frontal-cortex-suggests-an-obvious/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e7/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_youth_the-delayed-maturation-of-the-frontal-co_1298457.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e7/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_youth_the-delayed-maturation-of-the-frontal-co_1298457.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e7/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_youth_the-delayed-maturation-of-the-frontal-co_1298457.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“THE DELAYED MATURATION of the frontal cortex suggests an obvious scenario, namely that early in adolescence…” — Robert M. Sapolsky", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "But often, it's easier to resist temptation with distraction, or to be so inculcated in doing the right thing that it's automatic, outside the frontal cortex's portfolio - Then it isn't the harder thing, it's the only thing you can do.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert M. Sapolsky" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/but-often-it-s-easier-to-resist-temptation-with-distraction-or-to-be/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/703/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_can-do_but-often-it-s-easier-to-resist-temptati_408030.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/703/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_can-do_but-often-it-s-easier-to-resist-temptati_408030.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/703/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_can-do_but-often-it-s-easier-to-resist-temptati_408030.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But often, it's easier to resist temptation with distraction, or to be so inculcated in doing the right…” — Robert M. Sapolsky", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“probably the most important fact about genetics and culture is the delayed maturation of the frontal cortex—the genetic programming for the young frontal cortex to be freer from genes than other brain regions, to be sculpted instead by environment, to sop up cultural norms. To hark back to a theme from the first pages of this book, it doesn’t take a particularly fancy brain to learn how to motorically, say, throw a punch. But it takes a fancy, environmentally malleable frontal cortex to learn culture-specific rules about when it’s okay to throw punches.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert M. Sapolsky" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/probably-the-most-important-fact-about-genetics-and-culture-is-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/035/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_biology_probably-the-most-important-fact-about-g_463386.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/035/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_biology_probably-the-most-important-fact-about-g_463386.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/035/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_biology_probably-the-most-important-fact-about-g_463386.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“probably the most important fact about genetics and culture is the delayed maturation of the frontal…” — Robert M. Sapolsky", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“how acute stress strengthens connectivity between the frontal cortex and motoric areas, while weakening frontal-hippocampal connections; the result is decision making that is habitual, rather than incorporating new information. Similarly, chronic stress increases spine number in frontal-motor connections and decreases it in frontal-hippocampal ones.9”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert M. Sapolsky" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/how-acute-stress-strengthens-connectivity-between-the-frontal-cortex/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee2/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_decision-making_how-acute-stress-strengthens-connectivit_1255094.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee2/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_decision-making_how-acute-stress-strengthens-connectivit_1255094.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee2/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_decision-making_how-acute-stress-strengthens-connectivit_1255094.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“how acute stress strengthens connectivity between the frontal cortex and motoric areas, while weakening…” — Robert M. Sapolsky", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Most broadly, the PFC chooses between conflicting options—Coke or Pepsi; blurting out what you really think or restraining yourself; pulling the trigger or not. And often the conflict being resolved is between a decision heavily driven by cognition and one driven by emotions. Once it has decided, the PFC sends orders via projections to the rest of the frontal cortex, sitting just behind it. Those neurons then talk to the “premotor cortex,” sitting just behind it, which then passes it to the “motor cortex,” which talks to your muscles. And a behavior ensues.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert M. Sapolsky" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/most-broadly-the-pfc-chooses-between-conflicting-options-coke-or/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30e/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_decision-making_most-broadly-the-pfc-chooses-between-con_146894.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30e/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_decision-making_most-broadly-the-pfc-chooses-between-con_146894.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30e/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_decision-making_most-broadly-the-pfc-chooses-between-con_146894.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Most broadly, the PFC chooses between conflicting options—Coke or Pepsi; blurting out what you really think…” — Robert M. Sapolsky", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What does the frontal cortex do? Its list of expertise includes working memory, executive function (organizing knowledge strategically, and then initiating an action based on an executive decision), gratification postponement, long-term planning, regulation of emotions, and reining in impulsivity.35”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert M. Sapolsky" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/what-does-the-frontal-cortex-do-its-list-of-expertise-includes/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9e/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_frontal-cortex_what-does-the-frontal-cortex-do-its-list_2701072.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9e/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_frontal-cortex_what-does-the-frontal-cortex-do-its-list_2701072.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9e/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_frontal-cortex_what-does-the-frontal-cortex-do-its-list_2701072.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What does the frontal cortex do? Its list of expertise includes working memory, executive function…” — Robert M. Sapolsky", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“So if whites see a black face shown at a subliminal speed, the amygdala activates.10 But if the face is shown long enough for conscious processing, the anterior cingulate and the “cognitive” dlPFC then activate and inhibit the amygdala. It’s the frontal cortex exerting executive control over the deeper, darker amygdaloid response.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert M. Sapolsky" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/so-if-whites-see-a-black-face-shown-at-a-subliminal-speed-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94b/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_black-face_so-if-whites-see-a-black-face-shown-at-a_1244754.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94b/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_black-face_so-if-whites-see-a-black-face-shown-at-a_1244754.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94b/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_black-face_so-if-whites-see-a-black-face-shown-at-a_1244754.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“So if whites see a black face shown at a subliminal speed, the amygdala activates.10 But if the face is…” — Robert M. Sapolsky", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 12, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We process emotionally salient information more rapidly and automatically, but with less accuracy. Frontal function—working memory, impulse control, executive decision making, risk assessment, and task shifting—is impaired, and the frontal cortex has less control over the amygdala. And we become less empathic and prosocial. Reducing sustained stress is a win-win for us and those stuck around us.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert M. Sapolsky" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/we-process-emotionally-salient-information-more-rapidly-and/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f07/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_decision-making_we-process-emotionally-salient-informati_123615.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f07/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_decision-making_we-process-emotionally-salient-informati_123615.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f07/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_decision-making_we-process-emotionally-salient-informati_123615.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We process emotionally salient information more rapidly and automatically, but with less accuracy. Frontal…” — Robert M. Sapolsky", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 13, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Damasio has produced an influential theory about emotion-laden decision making, rooted in the philosophies of Hume and William James; this will soon be discussed.61 Briefly, the frontal cortex runs “as if” experiments of gut feelings—“How would I feel if this outcome occurred?”—and makes choices with the answer in mind. Damaging the vmPFC, thus removing limbic input to the PFC, eliminates gut feelings, making decisions harder.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert M. Sapolsky" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/damasio-has-produced-an-influential-theory-about-emotion-laden/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e38/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_decision-making_damasio-has-produced-an-influential-theo_1598435.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e38/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_decision-making_damasio-has-produced-an-influential-theo_1598435.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e38/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_decision-making_damasio-has-produced-an-influential-theo_1598435.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Damasio has produced an influential theory about emotion-laden decision making, rooted in the philosophies…” — Robert M. Sapolsky", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 14, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The brain is heavily influenced by genes. But from birth through young adulthood, the part of the human brain that most defines us (frontal cortex) is less a product of the genes with which you started life than of what life has thrown at you. Because it is the last to mature, by definition the frontal cortex is the brain region least constrained by genes and most sculpted by experience. This must be so, to be the supremely complex social species that we are. Ironically, it seems that the genetic program of human brain development has evolved to, as much as possible, free the frontal cortex from genes.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert M. Sapolsky" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/the-brain-is-heavily-influenced-by-genes-but-from-birth-through-young/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/521/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_brain_the-brain-is-heavily-influenced-by-genes_2884874.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/521/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_brain_the-brain-is-heavily-influenced-by-genes_2884874.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/521/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_brain_the-brain-is-heavily-influenced-by-genes_2884874.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The brain is heavily influenced by genes. But from birth through young adulthood, the part of the human…” — Robert M. Sapolsky", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 15, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Diallo, a West African immigrant in New York, matched a description of a rapist. Four white officers questioned him, and when the unarmed Diallo started to pull out his wallet, they decided it was a gun and fired forty-one shots. The underlying neurobiology concerns “event-related potentials” (ERPs), which are stimulus-induced changes in electrical activity of the brain (as assessed by EEG—electroencephalography). Threatening faces produce a distinctive change (called the P200 component) in the ERP waveform in under two hundred milliseconds. Among white subjects, viewing someone black evokes a stronger P200 waveform than viewing someone white, regardless of whether the person is armed. Then, a few milliseconds later, a second, inhibitory waveform (the N200 component) appears, originating from the frontal cortex—“Let’s think a sec about what we’re seeing before we shoot.” Viewing a black individual evokes less of an N200 waveform than does seeing someone white. The greater the P200/N200 ratio (i.e., the greater the ratio of I’m-feeling-threatened to Hold-on-a-sec), the greater the likelihood of shooting an unarmed black individual.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert M. 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Sapolsky", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 16, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Work by Martha Farah of the University of Pennsylvania, Tom Boyce of UCSF, and others demonstrates something outrageous: By age five, the lower a child’s socioeconomic status, on the average, the (a) higher the basal glucocorticoid levels and/or the more reactive the glucocorticoid stress response, (b) the thinner the frontal cortex and the lower its metabolism, and (c) the poorer the frontal function concerning working memory, emotion regulation, impulse control, and executive decision making; moreover, to achieve equivalent frontal regulation, lower-SES kids must activate more frontal cortex than do higher-SES kids. In addition, childhood poverty impairs maturation of the corpus callosum, a bundle of axonal fibers connecting the two hemispheres and integrating their function. This is so wrong—foolishly pick a poor family to be born into, and by kindergarten, the odds of your succeeding at life’s marshmallow tests are already stacked against you.34”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert M. Sapolsky" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/work-by-martha-farah-of-the-university-of-pennsylvania-tom-boyce-of/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/879/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_children_work-by-martha-farah-of-the-university-o_154147.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/879/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_children_work-by-martha-farah-of-the-university-o_154147.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/879/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_children_work-by-martha-farah-of-the-university-o_154147.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Work by Martha Farah of the University of Pennsylvania, Tom Boyce of UCSF, and others demonstrates something…” — Robert M. 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