It is based on the premise that lived experience leaves identifiable patterns in brain structure, which then feed back into cultural expression.
[1] Moreover, neuroanthropologists consider how new findings in the brain sciences help us understand the interactive effects of culture and biology on human development and behavior.
"Neuroanthropology" is a broad term, intended to embrace all dimensions of human neural activity, including emotion, perception, cognition, motor control, skill acquisition, and a range of other issues.
[1] Previously within the field of cultural neuroscience, anthropological methods such as ethnographic fieldwork have not been viewed as crucial for obtaining results to their hypotheses.
Neuroanthropology, on the other hand, aims to focus largely on incorporating ideas and practices from both anthropology and neuroscience to better understand how culture impacts brain development.
Specifically, neuroanthropology studies how differences in culture may influence neuronal signals and development pertaining to language, music, mental calculations, self-knowledge, and self-awareness.
"[2] Anthropological studies are concerned with the behaviors that contribute to differences in cognitive function, such as the way colors and languages are perceived.
[2] Further, this study shows how the variables that contribute to a society's view of normal behaviors directly influence the degree to which an individual feels happy.
[2] Similar studies have been conducted on United States war veterans and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
[2] In summary, the prefrontal cortex takes objects and events from specific areas of the brain and forms connections between them.
By building the connections, the areas of the brain, including the prefrontal cortex, can create new ideas and modify them as a result of cultural experiences.
[6][7] More specifically, the norms and practices of Western culture isolate objects from their environmental context to analytically think about the individual item.
This differs from the norms and practice of East Asian culture, which involve the relationship or interdependence between an object and its environmental context.