The Great Conflict - From Tupã and Pachamama to the modern war for human attention

A BrainLatam Decolonial Neuroscience perspective

Before reading further, try a brief experiment.

Stop for a moment.

Take a slow breath through your nose.

Exhale slowly.

Notice your body.

Notice where your attention is.

Now ask a simple question:

Who is shaping your attention right now?

This question might seem philosophical, but it sits at the center of one of the most important conflicts of our time.

The 21st century may ultimately be remembered as the era of the war for human attention.

To understand this conflict, we must travel through three layers of history:

1. Amerindian cosmologies

2. Colonial restructuring of meaning

3. The modern attention economy

At BrainLatam, we approach this problem through Decolonial Neuroscience, integrating brain science with the historical and cultural contexts of Latin America.

The Great Conflict

The Amerindian brain: cognition embedded in territory

Before colonization, the societies of the Americas developed cognitive systems deeply embedded in their environments.

Among many Tupi-Guarani peoples, thunder could be understood as Tupã, a living manifestation of the sky.

In the Andes, the Earth itself was Pachamama, a living system sustaining human life.

Mountains were Apus, spiritual guardians connected to community survival.

These cosmologies were not abstract metaphysics.

They functioned as cognitive orientation systems.

They structured:

• attention

• perception

• social belonging

• ecological relationships.

The forest, river, mountain, and sky were not merely landscapes.

They were centers of meaning and regulation.

From a neuroscience perspective, this means that cognition developed within stable attention anchors tied to territory.

The human nervous system evolved in environments where attention was directed toward:

• ecological signals

• seasonal cycles

• collective survival.

This form of cognition can be described as Body–Territory cognition, what BrainLatam refers to as APUS cognition.

Colonialism: the first large-scale reprogramming of attention

With European colonization beginning in the 16th century, a profound transformation occurred.

Colonial institutions systematically suppressed Amerindian cosmologies.

Historical records document processes such as:

• destruction of temples

• persecution of indigenous rituals

• replacement of local cosmologies with Christian narratives

• forced conversion and cultural assimilation.

This process was called in the Andes the Extirpation of Idolatries.

But its deepest impact was cognitive.

Colonialism reorganized the symbolic anchors of attention.

Instead of territory-based cosmologies, meaning became mediated through external institutions.

The ecological anchors of attention were weakened.

Human cognition was progressively reorganized through:

• religious hierarchies

• colonial authority structures

• imposed symbolic systems.

This was not merely religious transformation.

It was a reprogramming of collective cognition.

The second colonization: the attention economy

In the 21st century, a new transformation has emerged.

Digital platforms now compete intensely for human cognitive time.

This system is known as the attention economy.

Algorithms continuously analyze behavioral data and optimize content to maximize engagement.

The stimuli most effective at capturing attention include:

• conflict

• outrage

• fear

• scandal

• polarized narratives.

These stimuli exploit ancient survival mechanisms in the human brain.

The result is a global system designed to capture and monetize human attention.

Dopamine and algorithmic reinforcement

Social media platforms activate neural reward circuits.

Notifications, likes, and comments trigger dopaminergic reinforcement mechanisms.

This creates a feedback loop:

novelty → dopamine → more novelty seeking.

Intermittent rewards strengthen this cycle.

The brain becomes conditioned to seek continuous stimulation.

This pattern fragments attention and disrupts deeper cognitive processing.

EEG signals of attention and critical thinking

Neuroscience allows us to observe how attention and meaning processing occur in the brain.

Using EEG, researchers measure event-related potentials (ERPs) associated with cognitive functions.

Four components are particularly relevant.

MMN — detecting unexpected changes

The Mismatch Negativity (MMN) reflects the brain’s automatic detection of deviations from expected patterns.

It functions as an early sensory prediction system.

P300 — conscious allocation of attention

The P300 emerges when the brain identifies a stimulus as relevant.

It reflects attentional updating and contextual evaluation.

N400 — semantic coherence monitoring

The N400 appears when the brain encounters semantic inconsistency.

For example:

“I drink coffee with stones.”

The word stones generates an N400 because it violates semantic expectation.

P600 — cognitive reanalysis

The P600 reflects reanalysis and reinterpretation of information.

It is strongly associated with critical thinking and belief revision.

When attention is captured

In environments dominated by rapid, emotionally intense stimuli, these neural systems can weaken.

The consequences include:

• reduced detection of inconsistencies

• shallow semantic processing

• decreased reinterpretation of information.

The brain becomes more reactive and less reflective.

This state reinforces confirmation bias.

People tend to accept information that aligns with existing beliefs.

The physiology of cognition: HRV and RMSSD

Critical thinking is not only cognitive.

It is also physiological.

One important measure of autonomic regulation is heart rate variability (HRV).

A commonly used HRV metric is RMSSD.

Higher RMSSD indicates greater autonomic flexibility and parasympathetic regulation.

High HRV supports:

• emotional regulation

• sustained attention

• cognitive flexibility.

Low HRV is associated with:

• stress

• defensive states

• reduced cognitive flexibility.

Breathing, heart rhythms, and cognitive stability

Breathing directly influences heart rhythms through respiratory sinus arrhythmia.

During slow breathing cycles:

• heart rate increases during inhalation

• heart rate decreases during exhalation.

This rhythm increases HRV and stabilizes cognitive processes.

When HRV decreases due to stress or constant stimulation, the organism shifts into defensive regulation.

This physiological state favors rapid reactions rather than reflective cognition.

Zones of mind regulation

BrainLatam describes three major states of cognitive regulation.

Zone 1 — reactive cognition

Fast emotional responses dominate.

Attention is fragmented.

Zone 3 — narrative capture

Rigid narratives dominate attention.

Critical reinterpretation decreases.

Confirmation bias increases.

Zone 2 — embodied reflection

Attention, breathing, and bodily regulation are balanced.

This state supports creativity, critical thinking, and openness.

Zone 2 corresponds to what we describe as fruition and embodied cognition.

Religious and ideological ratification mechanisms

Narratives that divide the world into Good versus Evil have strong psychological power.

They simplify complexity and create group identity.

Such narratives reduce cognitive tension.

When tension decreases, the brain can release neurotransmitters associated with relief and reward.

This emotional release may reinforce the narrative—even if it is inaccurate.

In some ritual contexts, collective emotional release strengthens belief systems through physiological reward mechanisms.

This creates a ratification loop between body and narrative.

Collective cognition and hyperscanning

Modern neuroscience now studies collective brain dynamics using techniques such as:

• EEG hyperscanning

• fNIRS hyperscanning.

These methods measure synchronized neural activity between individuals.

Studies show that coordinated activities such as:

• music

• dance

• conversation

• cooperative tasks

can produce inter-brain synchronization.

BrainLatam conceptualizes this phenomenon as Human Quorum Sensing (QSH).

Just as biological cells coordinate through chemical signaling, humans coordinate through neural and physiological synchronization.

This process is central to social belonging and collective cognition.

APUS cognition: body–territory intelligence

Within Decolonial Neuroscience, BrainLatam proposes the concept of APUS cognition.

APUS refers to extended body–territory awareness rooted in Amerindian traditions.

In this framework:

• cognition is not confined to the brain

• it emerges from body, environment, and social interaction.

Territory functions as a cognitive scaffold.

When territorial anchors disappear, attention becomes easier to capture by external systems.

The great conflict of the 21st century

Across centuries, two major reorganizations of attention have occurred in Latin America.

First:

the suppression of Amerindian cosmologies.

Second:

the global emergence of the attention economy.

Both processes revolve around the same fundamental question:

Who organizes collective attention?

Today, attention is shaped by a complex network of:

• digital platforms

• political narratives

• religious systems

• economic incentives.

The human nervous system has become a central battlefield.

Recovering attention

Indigenous traditions often cultivated practices that stabilize cognition and attention.

These include:

• connection with territory

• silence and observation

• communal belonging

• rhythmic bodily practices.

Such practices strengthen physiological regulation and support states close to Zone 2 cognition.

In these states:

• HRV increases

• attention stabilizes

• reflective cognition becomes possible.

The final experiment

Return once again to your breathing.

Notice your body.

Notice your surroundings.

The most important conflict of our time may not be visible in traditional political arenas.

It may be occurring inside every human nervous system.

The question remains:

Who is training your attention right now?

Territorial cosmologies rooted in Tupã, Pachamama, and living landscapes?

Or algorithmic systems designed to capture and monetize human attention?

The future of human cognition may depend on how we answer this question.

References (post-2021)

Allen, C. (2022). The Hold Life Has: Coca and Cultural Identity in an Andean Community. Smithsonian Institution Press.

Citton, Y. (2023). The Ecology of Attention in the Digital Age. Polity Press.

Luck, S. J. (2022). Event-Related Potentials. MIT Press.

Mignolo, W., & Walsh, C. (2023). On Decoloniality: Concepts, Analytics, Praxis. Duke University Press.

Petersen, M. B., Osmundsen, M., & Arceneaux, K. (2022). The psychology of misinformation and political polarization. Nature Human Behaviour.

Schäfer, T., et al. (2023). Dopamine and reward mechanisms in social media engagement. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences.

Thayer, J. F., & Lane, R. D. (2022). The heart–brain connection: heart rate variability and emotional regulation. Biological Psychology.

Zhang, H., et al. (2023). Inter-brain synchrony and hyperscanning in social interaction research. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews.