Beyond the Lab: Cognitive Neuroscience in Real-World Contexts

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Comparative Psychology
• Ecological Psychology

Background:

• Laboratory-based cognitive neuroscience experiments yield advances but face challenges in generalizability and real-world relevance.
• Fundamental assumptions about cognition across species and contexts are often unexamined, potentially limiting scientific understanding.

Purpose of the Study:

• Critically evaluate three common assumptions in cognitive neuroscience: representativeness of lab animals, efficacy of animal models for human cognition, and fidelity of digital twins.
• Advocate for an expanded definition of ecological validity that incorporates the naturalness of subjects and environments.

Main Methods:

• Critical analysis of foundational assumptions in cognitive neuroscience research.
• Review of existing methodologies and proposal of new approaches.

Main Results:

• Unexamined assumptions risk narrowing the understanding of cognition by overlooking behavioral flexibility and environmental variability.
• Current practices may not fully capture the agency and complexity of cognition in natural settings.

Conclusions:

• Reassessing assumptions about laboratory animals, animal models, and digital twins is essential.
• Promoting methodological shifts like enriched contexts, mobile neuroimaging, and virtual environments can enhance ecological validity.
• An expanded approach to cognitive neuroscience is needed to reflect real-world behavior and embedded cognition.