Integrative Neurobiology and Cultural Context Theory: The Role of Cultural Neurobiological Inheritance Systems

Abstract In this reflection article, we present a new theoretical perspective, which we term integrative neurobiology and cultural context (INCC) theory . Traditionally, social scientists have viewed the human brain as a “black box” of behavior. At the same time, advancements in neuroscience tempt us to perceive behavior as a linear extension of brain processes. We advocate for an alternative research structure that explores the integrative dynamics of cultural context, neuroplasticity, learning, memory, neurotransmitters, and emotions as critical components to explicating the multidimensionality of cross-cultural human behavior. Integrative neurobiology and cultural context (INCC) theory specifically challenges contemporary accounts that map organismal behavior in a linear fashion onto genetic makeup as well as molecular or physicochemical brain processes. This essay addresses a fundamental question: how can we link culture, individual experience, neurobiological processes, and inheritance systems? To achieve this goal, we have developed a new conceptual perspective, which we term cultural neurobiological inheritance systems (CNIS), the foundational concept of integrative neurobiology and cultural context (INCC) theory. The significance of this contribution is that it resolves a critical limitation in current cultural and evolutionary theory. Even though existing models, including gene–culture coevolution, dual inheritance, and niche construction theory, have profoundly illuminated the processes of behavioral transmission and environmental modification, none have specified the neurobiological mechanisms by which these effects become stabilized and transmitted across generations. CNIS is inherited vertically and horizontally, and the strength of transference and fidelity is dependent on the intensity of cultural learning and its simultaneous effects on neuroplasticity, neurotransmitters, and the development of emotional systems. We argue that memory and related neurobiological processes shaped by experience are anchored in discrete, physiological substrates of the human brain. In short, CNIS represents the physical trace of memory in the neural architecture, providing an interface between human experience and the functional neurobiological basis of cognition. Recent empirical research into engram and engram assemblage formation, studies of survivors of the Holocaust and their descendants, and theory of mind research provide direct support for proof of concept for integrative neurobiology and cultural context theory and CNIS.