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Can we measure memes?

Adam McNamara1

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Surrey Surrey, UK.

Frontiers in Evolutionary Neuroscience
|July 2, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Memes, the units of cultural evolution, can be studied in cognitive neuroscience. This paper proposes a framework for measuring internal memes (i-memes) and external memes (e-memes) using neuroimaging.

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Cultural Evolution
  • Neuroimaging

Background:

  • Memes are central to cultural evolution but often excluded from cognitive neuroscience due to measurement challenges.
  • Previous research has not adequately defined memes, leading to their conflation with simpler concepts like stimuli or learned associations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose a framework for studying memes within cognitive neuroscience.
  • To define memes as internally represented (i-memes) or externally represented (e-memes).
  • To argue for the feasibility of neuroimaging memes and their evolution.

Main Methods:

  • Defining memes as internal (neural substrate) or external (environmental) representations.
  • Proposing the use of advanced neuroimaging techniques.
  • Focusing on imaging the connectivity profiles of i-memes and tracking their changes over time.

Main Results:

  • Neuroimaging technology is sufficiently advanced to study the neural substrates of meme initiation and replication.
  • It is possible to measure changes in i-memes, observing their evolution.
  • The proposed framework allows for controlled experiments on meme dynamics.

Conclusions:

  • Memes are measurable entities crucial for understanding cultural evolution.
  • The proposed i-meme/e-meme distinction and neuroimaging methods enable scientific study.
  • This research challenges the simplistic view of memes as mere stimuli or learned associations.
Keywords:
evolutionfMRIfunctional connectivitymememirror neurons

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