Meeting the brain on its own terms

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Brain Mapping

Background:

• Contemporary human brain mapping often assumes
• Task-based imaging studies have historically linked brain activity to cognitive functions.
• Advancements in resting-state studies and network analysis enable connectivity research without cognitive tasks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To question the necessity of the "mind is what the brain does" hypothesis in brain mapping.
• To propose an alternative framework for understanding brain organization and connectivity.
• To advocate for exploratory research to discover new neuroscientific concepts.

Main Methods:

• Critique of traditional task-based neuroimaging.
• Proposal for exploratory neuroscientific experiments.
• Emphasis on studying brain connectivity at the mesoscopic scale (neuronal assemblies).
• Integration of connectivity studies with manipulation methods.

Main Results:

• The paper argues that the "mind is what the brain does" hypothesis is dispensable.
• Dropping this hypothesis allows researchers to study the brain on its own terms.
• Exploratory research can lead to novel concepts and principles of brain organization and connectivity.

Conclusions:

• Neuroscience can advance by adopting exploratory, discovery-based approaches.
• Focusing on the mesoscopic scale offers a path to integrate micro- and macroscopic findings.
• This approach facilitates a more comprehensive understanding of human brain organization and function.