Brainwashed by Phileine de Widt

Debunking Neuroscience Myths

“One’s personality is visible in their brain.” Maybe you’ve thought this while psychoanalyzing your situationship with your friends at 2 a.m., or while diagnosing your unitmates with five different personality disorders because they microwave fish. Whether you meant it or you were simply acting like everyone is a walking DSM-5, one thing is certain: if you truly believe you can see someone’s personality written cleanly in their brain, you’ve been brainwashed.

You may have seen on TikTok or Instagram Reels (or whatever platform you are on, now that you “deleted” social media) that “this is what an introvert’s brain looks like.” It may be shown alongside a brain filled with glowing blobs announcing someone is brave, anxious, or untrustworthy. It sounds scientific and even looks like it, but the reality is quite different. A brain scan—whether it’s fMRI, EEG, or PET—does not show personality. 

Unlike your fingerprint, personality is not a neat, fixed characteristic carved into a specific brain region. It’s an ever-shifting mix of experiences, habits, context, biology, and culture. There is no “extrovert cortex” lighting up when you approach your Intro to Philosophy classmate in the bar. There’s also no “trustworthy lobe” sticking out when you successfully keep the identity behind a UCU Confessions post private. What we do have are complex networks of neurons constantly adapting and rewiring based on other factors. Things like stress, sleep, genetics, relationships, learning, and, yes, even those unhinged late-night conversations as you wait for your induction stoves to finally boil your pasta water. Your personality is not a static label the brain carries around like a solis ID. Instead, it’s a dynamic system. So, if you’ve ever spiraled because someone posted your “personality type according to your amygdala,” it might be time to reconsider giving random blobs of color that much power over your identity.

Another problem with the myth is how it assumes personality is purely biological. Social context deeply shapes behavior. You may act reserved around strangers, but feral around your best friends. You might be patient, until you’re hungry. You might submit confidently to the UCU crush list, but crumble when you actually see them in person. Brain scans do not capture these nuances. Instead, these techniques focus on tissue identification, blood flow, or metabolic and electrical activity amongst others. This helps predict where activity is highest in the brain or what something looks like. No amount of increased motor cortex response, however, can signify one’s levels of neuroticism. 

Further, if personality was sketched into neural tissue, growth would not be possible. We know a shy teenager can become a bold adult, an impulsive twenty-year-old may become thoughtful with time, and a humanities-minded first-year may graduate with a thesis in chemistry. People and their personalities change, especially as they enter new environments. 

So, as you read this Winter's Blackout Edition, it is nice to remember the anonymity of our brains. Though imaging techniques have led to advances in the neuroscience community, it still cannot reveal the true person housing your brain.