The possible brain mechanisms underlying the development of false beliefs and conspiracy theories were the subject of the editorial – of the Jama magazine on November 2 – by prof. Bruce l. Miller, a neurologist at the University of California Institute of Neuroscience.
Fake news contributed to the spread of the virus
The coronavirus pandemic is accompanied by fake news and conspiracy theories on the origins of the virus also amplified by social media.
Prof. Miller highlights how anti-scientific rhetoric, favored by scarce scientific knowledge, hasthwarted the recommendations of the health authorities on the prevention of contagion and contributed to the spread of the virus .
The data relating to Covid-19, its diffusion and its therapy, are presented by virologists and doctors with divergent opinions and with tools that are difficult to understand for people with insufficient scientific culture.
May the lack of scientific knowledge and the low cultural level be sufficient to justify the diffusion of false theories and data
Miller identifies in the deficiencies of the educational systemthe source of the tendency to believe in fake news, as the development in adolescence of frontal circuits, which preside over cognitive processes and allow valid reasoning, and also the consequence of a correct educational process that includes scientific literacy .
Without stimulating the ability to reason rationally, without monitoring and evaluating the validity of scientific information, it is easier to believe false information.
The brain is organized to create and feed our opinions, evaluating the reliability of the information and relating it to the acquired experiences.
Underlying the false beliefs are the same mechanisms as dementia
According to this principle, Miller argues, the neural mechanisms underlying the false beliefs are analogous to the neurodegenerative processes of dementia, that is, an alteration in the functioning of brain circuits occurs.
In support of this thesis, recent research has hypothesized that false beliefs emerge in the presence of dysfunctions of the frontal cortex , which allows us to distinguish false thoughts from true ones. Information is not processed correctly, so false perceptions and thoughts are accepted as true.
Starting from these assumptions, Miller reports the case of two types of dementia, the “Lewy body” and the fronto-temporal one. In these patients,the circuits that process the truthfulness of the information are altered and the brain receives distorted sensory information, which interferes with the interpretation of the outside world.
Miller hypothesizes an analogy between people without adequate scientific knowledge, who cannot process scientific information and data on COVID-19, and those with dementia from Lewy bodies, who, for example, are unable to recognize a familiar face and mistake him for an impostor. Failing to process the data correctly, they mistake the false information for truth, and are convinced of its truthfulness.
Believing in fake news exorcizes fear
Furthermore, believing in fake news allows you toexorcise feelings of fear and distress in difficult times , such as a pandemic, and allow you to believe that problems do not exist or are much less serious.
How can the spread of fake news be countered
In the editorial, Miller appeals to institutions, the scientific community and the media to make a common effort to simplify and make science-related news understandable .
Only in this way can science win, and if science wins, everyone wins.
Source:
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2772693
