Changes in political attitudes are associated with changes in neural responses to political content

Political identity shapes neural responses to political content, but how these responses change within individuals over time remains unexplored. Here, we tested this by leveraging a unique political crisis. We conducted two fMRI scans separated by two and a half years, during which 21 participants viewed identical political videos. This period coincided with political instability that potentially caused participants to shift their attitudes towards the videos. Analysis revealed a neural plasticity hierarchical pattern: primary sensory regions showed minimal changes, while limbic, reward, and memory networks exhibited the most substantial differences between sessions. Specifically, the amygdala, hippocampus, and caudate demonstrated activity patterns that tracked changes in interpretation. Notably, neural changes in these regions correlated with shifts in political in-group affiliations, but not statistically significantly with changes in ideological positions. These findings provide empirical support for the hypothesis that social and psychological processes shape neural responses to political content, rather than vice versa.