In the new UCSB study, exposure to negative stereotyping changed the behavior of the subcortical nucleus accumbens, a brain area associated with the anticipation of reward and punishment.According to one of the study’s authors, social psychologist Kyle Ratner, “What we’re seeing today is a close examination of the hardships and indignities that people have faced for a very long time because of their race and ethnicity.”“It is clear that people who belong to historically marginalized groups in the U.S.