Does Culture Affect Brain
Function?
Antonio E. Puente
University of North Carolina at Wilmington
 Hahnemann University
 December 14, 2000


Purpose of Presentation
Summary of 25 Years of Research and
Practice
 Where Do Biopsychosocial Variables Fit
in Brain Dysfunction?
 Searching for a Neuropsychological “g”

Defining Concepts
Culture (Shared Extra-genetic
Knowledge)
 Brain and Neuropsychology
(Processor of Information; Information
about the Processor)
 Intelligence and Cognition
(Understanding/Tracking/Using
Discrete Information)

Examples from Three
Neuropsychological Studies

Background
– Grenada, W.I.- Hypertension & Stress
– Argentina- Fulbright & the Malvinas
– Puerto Rico- APA Visiting Psychologist
Program & the Translation of Test
Examples from Studies:
Continued

Intention
– Why do Ethnic-Minorities do Poorly on Most
Cognitive & Neuropsychological Measures?
– Three Generations = Anglo Saxon
– Cattell and the Concept of “g”
– Is There Common Information Processing
Across Cultures?
Examples From Studies:
Three Attempts

Wechsler Intelligence Scales

Luria-Nebraska Battery

Amazon Indians
Wechsler Scales: I

Background
– Item Bias on the Wechsler Scales
– WISC


Puerto Rican Version
WAIS vs WISC
Wechsler Scales: II

Principal Collaborators In Psych Corp:
– William Hrabrick,, Aurelio Prifitera, Michael
O’Callahan, David Tulsky

Principal Co-Collaborators:
– Alfredo Ardila, Josette Harris, Andres
Barona, Laura Herrans (& Monica Rosselli)
– Consulting Workgroup (7)

Other Collaborators:
– 50-70 School and Clinical
Neuropsychologists Throughout the US
Wechsler Scales: III
Time-Frame
 Items
 Production
 Sampling
 Standardization

Wechsler Scales: IV

Time-Frame:
– Initial Work= late 1980s-1993
– Formal Work= 1994-2001
Wechsler Scales: V

Items:
– Borrowed Items
– Explicit and Implicit Bias
– Across Hispanic Subgroup Agreement
– Scoring Criteria
Wechsler Scales: VI

Production:
– Using Prior WISC & Foreign Versions
– Drawings
– Printing
– Pricing & Packaging
– Production
Wechsler Scales: VII

Sampling:
– Age
– Sex
– Educational Level (child and parent)
– Country of Origin
– Acculturation Level
– Language Preference of Child
– Socio-economic Status
Wechsler Scales: VIII

Standardization:
– Examiners



36
Geographical & Cultural Variability
Taped Tryout
– Methods



Tryout= 600
Standardization= 1,000
Test-Retest= 300
Wechsler Scales: IX

Current Status:
– “On Hold”
– No Internal or External Project Director nor
Funding
Luria-Nebraska
Neuropsychological Battery: I

Background
– National Academy of Neuropsychology
1979 Meeting in Orlando
– Luria-North Dakota Neuropsychological
Battery
– Initial Collaboration with Golden & “Item
Interpretation of the Luria-Nebraska
Neuropsychological Battery”
– Chilean Journal of Psychology (1982)
LNNB: II

Failed Attempts:
– Argentina
– Puerto Rico

Spanish Collaborators:
– Madrid- Juan Tobal, Antonio Cano, Juan
Manuel Cepedez, Itziar Iruarrizaga
– Granada- Juan Gody, Juana Garcia. Miguel
Perez
– Other- Salamanca; TEA, Western Psych.
LNNB: III

Literature Review:
– 500 Total Articles on the LNNB
– 34 on the LNNB and Ethnic/Foreign
Samples
– 4= Children; 30= Adult
– Empirical= 23 (BD, Schizophrenia)
– Translations= 9
LNNB: IV

Problems:
– Items


Hispanic Subculture
Literal Translation
– Copyright




Luria
Christensen
TEA
Western Psychological Services
LNNB: V

Translation:
– Original Translation by Bilingual
Neuropsychologist
– Back Translation by Two Bilingual
Neuropsychologist
– New Translation Developed
– Discrepancies With English Translation
Reconciled
LNNB: VI

Major Item Changes:
– Receptive Speech
– Expressive Speech
– Writing & Reading
– Arithmetic
– Intellectual Processes
LNNB: VII

Sampling:
– Total= 232 (men= 126; women= 106)
– Mean Age= 39.88 (15-88)
– Mean Education= 9.93(0-21)
LNNB: VIII

Correlations with LNNB I:
– Range= .5356 to .7232
– Education= -.48 to -.72
– Scales= .52 to .845
LNNB: IX

Next Steps:
– Publishing Patient Group Info
– TEA/Western Psychological Corporation
Copyright & Related Difficulties
Amazon Indians: I

Background:
– Culture-free Sample
– Caribbean, Latin America, Spain, Russia

Collaborators:
– Vivian Andrade (Brazil)
– Miguel Perez (Spain)
Amazon: II
First Study

Task
– CVLT Type Task (15 words)
– Words in Guaranis & Portuguese

Sampling
– Total= 20
– Guaranis (educated vs “uneducated”)
Amazon: III
(First Study Continued)

Results:
– Verbal Memory



similar number of words in first trial
different learning curves
more words total for indigenous Indians
Amazon Indians: IV
Second Study

Sample
– N= 12 per group
– Educated vs “non-educated” Guaranis

Tasks
– CVLT type task (15 matched words)
– 12 Figures of indigenous animals
– WMS-R Logical Memory
– WAIS-R Digit Span
– WAIS-R Block Design
Amazon Indians: V
Second Study (continued)

Results
– No between-group differences
– “Un-educated” Indians did significantly
better in motor and visual tasks than in
verbal tasks in either language
Explanation of Current State
of the Scientific Literature
New, Novel, & Extremely Difficult
 History and Culture Do Matter
 Personal Manipulation of History and
Culture Matter Even More
 Cultural Knowledge Might be the
Manner in Which Natural Selection
Expresses Itself in Homo Sapiens
 Clinical Neuropsychology Might Help
Unravel This Expression

Answers with Questions:
Where Do We Go From Here?
Is Reductionism Enough?
 Is the Tabula Rasa Really Blank?
 Does Individual Cognition Affect Gene
Pool Constitution?
 If so, is Culture the Mechanism?
 Is Intelligence and Neuropsychological
Constructs (e.g. Memory, Problem
Solving, etc.) Equal to Understanding of
Culture?
 If so, Does Mind Emerge from Brain
and, in turn, Control Brain?

Further Information

Address:
– Department of Psychology, UNC-W,
Wilmington, NC 28403-3297

E-mail:
– puente@uncwil.edu

Web Site:
– clinicalneuropsychology.com
– uncwil.edu/people/puente