4.4 Frontal cortex and working memory
The frontal cortex controls memory through the process of ever-changing decision, selection and switching. This kind of memory is called “working memory”, in particular, the behavior of reminiscence is the relation of the frontal cortex to working memory. The frontal cortex knows what information is stored in what place, and can recall such memory when the place of storage is found, because the frontal cortex connects with that part of brain and activates the circuit, including memory trace. Working memory is related to the adaptive decision-making based on priorities when there is a truth, that is, a deterministic way to seek the only answer.
Both Gordimer’s and Max’s motivation is the adaptive decision-making (anti-apartheid), therefore, I will attempt to identify a solution there. I think that it is difficult for the adaptive decision-making to achieve a balance between situation-dependence and independence. Generally speaking, women like situation-independence and men like situation-dependence. If the situation is safe, independence is better, if the situation is unsafe, dependence is better.
The frontal cortex has differences between genders. The right frontal cortex of men is more beetling than the left, unlike for women. As to the decision-making of situation-dependent scenarios, men activate the left prefrontal cortex, and women activate both sides of the posterior cortex. Furthermore, for the decision-making of situation-independence scenarios, men activate the right prefrontal cortex and women activate both side of the prefrontal cortex.
There is another difference of the functional pattern in the cerebral cortex between sexes. The brain of men have more prominent differences of right and left parts than women. The brain of women have more prominent differences in the anteroposterior parts than men. When dealing with language information, men activate the anteroposterior part in the left hemisphere, while women activate the frontal cortex of the right and left cerebral hemisphere.
“The Late Bourgeois World” describes the motivation of white people related to the revolution of South Africa based on the working memory of Max, in one particular day of the storyteller’s life. Therefore, when Gordimer wrote the novel as a woman, her right and left prefrontal cortex was active.
花村嘉英（2018）「『ブルジョワ世界の終わりに』から見たゴーディマの意欲について」より translated by Yoshihisa Hanamura