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Empirical Assessments of Invariance

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Invariants of Behavior

Part of the book series: Springer Series in Cognitive and Neural Systems ((SSCNS,volume 1))

Abstract

The search for invariances outlined in the previous chapter is taken further with the analysis of empirical methods of behavioral invariance in the study of the mammalian brain. These methods are the bread and butter of the neuroscientist and cognitive neuroscientist: electrophysiology, functional magnetic resonance imaging, and diffusion tensor imaging all search for measurable invariances that may illuminate function and mechanism. This is a simple task as all these methods have inherent particularities, of both empirical and epistemological nature. A clear view on these issues is essential as they have strong bearing on the conclusions about the results of experiments, and by extension on the mechanisms of behavior.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Statements of the sort “These oscillations have multifold functions and act as universal operators or codes of brain functional activity” are too strong, and suffer from the confusion between correlate and cause [2].

  2. 2.

    Timely. Logothetis [27] asks, “What can and what can’t we do with fMRI.”

  3. 3.

    Recent articles have addressed the question of what precise cellular process is the closest correlate of the BOLD signal, whether it is from all neurons, only excitatory, inhibitory, or glial, cells, whether it applies equally to different areas, and so on. Recent articles have competently shown the different sources and how they contribute to the signal [28, 26].

  4. 4.

    Also, a debate has recently arisen concerning unusually high correlations in fMRI studies of social cognition, where a fundamental flaw in some experimental designs has been unearthed [46].

  5. 5.

    Also noteworthy in Fig. 3.4 is the presence of cores in the left hemisphere in participant C.

  6. 6.

    Usually when there is already the requirement for surgical interventions, or when the patient has full body paralysis.

  7. 7.

    Some popular science, as well as renowned scientists, have created much confusion on this particular topic.

  8. 8.

    “Is the brain precise or noisy?” is a version of this paradox, which is also a rather poor way to pose the question.

  9. 9.

    A variation of this argument applies to the search for dendrites computing logical operations. One finds, or does not find, the logical operations sought. Usually this is done by restricting the context of dendritic function way beyond its biological context.

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  1. Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Okinawa, Japan

    Mario Negrello

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Correspondence to Mario Negrello .

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Negrello, M. (2011). Empirical Assessments of Invariance. In: Invariants of Behavior. Springer Series in Cognitive and Neural Systems, vol 1. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8804-1_3

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