Neuro-Culture Interaction in Specific Brain Region of Immigrants: The Effect of Historical and Current Exposure from the Majority Culture
Ethnic majority culture (i.e. Malay) has given much influence on the biological and psychosocial aspect of immigrants in Malaysia. This study aims to examine the neuro-culture interaction among immigrants (historical and current immigrant) with regards to their emotional response towards Malay cultural heritage visualization. The Event Related Potential technique was used to explore the neural activity of the mental and emotional processes in response to specific culture-related stimuli. A modified oddball paradigm was applied in the presentation of the visual stimulus that was set-up in the e-prime program. Significant neuro-culture interaction was observed in the temporal area (T6) of the brain which was consistent in P300 and N200 amplitude. Current immigrants indicated significant lower P300 and N200 amplitudes, as compared to majority ethnicity (i.e. Malay). Long- and short-term exposure to cultural environment has an important consequence in the psycho-biological system.