Indigenous Voices in Neuroscience

A short embodied experiment before any theory

Before reading further, try something simple.

1. Take a slow breath.
2. Feel the weight of your body on the chair.
3. Notice whether you feel that you belong in the place where you are.

Something happens in the body when we feel belonging.

Breathing slows down.
Muscles relax.
Attention becomes wider and calmer.

This small exercise reveals something profound:

the mind does not start inside the brain alone. It emerges from the relationship between body, environment, and other people.

This idea is at the center of an emerging discussion in global neuroscience known as “Indigenous Voices in Neuroscience.”

Indigenous Voices in Neuroscience

Experiment 1 — The body knows before theory

Imagine entering a room where nobody knows you.

Your body immediately begins to evaluate:

• Am I safe here?

• Do I belong here?

• Can I relax?

This evaluation happens before conscious thought.

In neuroscience, this is connected to research on:

• interoception

• social neurobiology

• embodied cognition

Recent work shows that interoceptive brain networks contribute directly to emotional regulation and social awareness (Khalsa et al., 2022).

Many Indigenous traditions describe this more simply:

the body senses the territory.

Experiment 2 — Two brains, one rhythm

Now try another small experiment.

Take a deep breath.

Then start a conversation with someone nearby.

Something remarkable often happens:
when people interact attentively, their brains begin to synchronize patterns of activity.

This phenomenon, known as inter-brain synchrony, has been observed in studies using EEG and fNIRS hyperscanning (Liu et al., 2023; Czeszumski et al., 2020).

These studies suggest something fundamental:

the human mind functions best in connection with other minds.

Many Indigenous worldviews describe this not as individual cognition, but as relational consciousness.

Experiment 3 — Territory regulates the brain

Imagine two situations.

Situation A
You are in a place where you feel accepted and connected.

Situation B
You are in an unfamiliar or hostile environment.

Your brain and body respond differently.

Research in environmental neuroscience shows that environments can modulate brain networks related to stress, attention, and emotional regulation (Bratman et al., 2022; Berman et al., 2021).

This means the brain is not isolated from the world.

It is embedded within the environment in which it lives.

What Indigenous voices bring to neuroscience

The current discussion around Indigenous voices in neuroscience, highlighted in initiatives supported by networks such as FALAN and ALBA–IBRO, raises an important question:

Who formulates the questions of neuroscience?

For decades, much psychological and neuroscientific research relied heavily on populations described as WEIRD:

• Western

• Educated

• Industrialized

• Rich

• Democratic

This bias limits our understanding of the human mind (Henrich, 2020).

When Indigenous scholars and perspectives enter the scientific conversation, new questions emerge:

• How does territory shape cognition?

• How does belonging regulate the body?

• How does cooperation shape consciousness?

These questions resonate with emerging fields such as:

• social neuroscience

• embodied cognition

• environmental neuroscience

• hyperscanning research

An unexpected convergence

Modern neuroscience is increasingly recognizing that cognition is relational and embodied.

Key research areas now emphasize:

• body–brain integration

• interoceptive awareness

• collective dynamics of neural activity

• brain–environment interaction

This convergence suggests that insights from Indigenous knowledge systems may help expand scientific hypotheses about the human mind.

One final experiment

Before finishing this article, pause again.

Take a slow breath.

Look around you.

Notice that you are not simply in a place.

You are participating in a place.

Perhaps this is one of the central messages emerging from Indigenous voices in neuroscience:

consciousness is not only neural activity inside a skull.
It is life unfolding in relationships.

References (post-2021 emphasis)

Berman, M. G., et al. (2021). The cognitive benefits of interacting with nature. Psychological Science.

Bratman, G. N., et al. (2022). Nature and mental health: An ecosystem service perspective. Science Advances.

Czeszumski, A., et al. (2020). Hyperscanning: A valid method to study neural inter-brain synchronization. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience.

Damasio, A. (2021). The feeling of life itself and the construction of consciousness. Nature Reviews Neuroscience.

Henrich, J. (2020). The WEIRDest People in the World. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Khalsa, S. S., et al. (2022). Interoception and mental health: A roadmap. Biological Psychiatry.

Liu, D., et al. (2023). Inter-brain synchronization during social interaction. Nature Human Behaviour.

Pereira Jr., A., & Furlan, F. A. (2021). Triple-aspect monism and the science of consciousness. Frontiers in Psychology.