BIOLOGY ANDPOLITICS: Linking Nature and Nurture

Abstract

Although millions of Americans take psychoactive medicines (e.g. Prozac and Ritalin), few social scientists believe biological theories and findings should be integrated with research on human behavior. Four topics illustrate current studies linking politics and the life sciences: (a) Developments in genetics and medicine indicate that governmental policies have greatly underrated the dangers posed by radiation and the social transformations that will result from DNA sequencing. (b) Research on brain structures and neurochemistry shows how toxic chemicals undermine normal emotions and behavior. Heavy metal burdens are higher in violent criminals, and exposure to these toxins is significantly correlated with rates of violence (controlling for socioeconomic, ethnic, and demographic factors). (c) An untested chemical used to treat water supplied to 140 million Americans significantly increases both odds of dangerous lead uptake and behavioral dysfunctions in children and adults. (d ) The complexity of gene-environment interactions challenges accepted theories of gender, sociopolitical inequalities, ethnocentrism, and history. Such research in biopolitics can illuminate policy controversies in education, substance abuse, and crime.

Race, Race-Based Discrimination, and Health Outcomes Among African Americans

“…Biological measures of race-based stress (allostatic load) reveal intricate relationships among the brain, immune system, autonomic nervous system, and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis (McEwen & Seeman 1999), as well as the ways in which unhealthy environmental stimuli can "get under the skin" of individuals to cause negative health outcomes (Massey 1985, Taylor et al 1997. Political scientists interested in racial inequalities of criminal behavior and in a number of other areas are looking at the interaction between environmental exposures and brain chemistry (Masters 2001).…”

The Potential Relevances of Biology to Social Inquiry

“…Biosocial models can also posit that environmental conditions alter biology in ways that then have enduring effects for individual life outcomes. For example, interest continues in how the differential exposure of lower socioeconomic status individuals to environmental toxins like lead may explain part of the association between social standing and either negative health outcomes or socially undesirable behaviors (Masters 2001). Low birth weight is associated with various negative outcomes, including lower educational attainment, and thus might serve as another example.…”

Acetylcholines, Toxins and Human Behavior

“…Moreover, controlling for socio-economic, demographic, and ethnic factors, environmental releases of lead and manganese are highly significant factors in geographic differences in violent crime (Table 3). These findings, which clearly show the interactions of "nature" and "nurture, " [13,14] should hardly be surprising insofar as lead is associated with a higher risk of hyperactivity during childhood, and childhood ADHD is predictive of adult criminality [15].…”