Title |
Deficient approaches to human neuroimaging
|
---|---|
Published in |
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, July 2014
|
DOI | 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00462 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Johannes Stelzer, Gabriele Lohmann, Karsten Mueller, Tilo Buschmann, Robert Turner |
Abstract |
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is the workhorse of imaging-based human cognitive neuroscience. The use of fMRI is ever-increasing; within the last 4 years more fMRI studies have been published than in the previous 17 years. This large body of research has mainly focused on the functional localization of condition- or stimulus-dependent changes in the blood-oxygenation-level dependent signal. In recent years, however, many aspects of the commonly practiced analysis frameworks and methodologies have been critically reassessed. Here we summarize these critiques, providing an overview of the major conceptual and practical deficiencies in widely used brain-mapping approaches, and exemplify some of these issues by the use of imaging data and simulations. In particular, we discuss the inherent pitfalls and shortcomings of methodologies for statistical parametric mapping. Our critique emphasizes recent reports of excessively high numbers of both false positive and false negative findings in fMRI brain mapping. We outline our view regarding the broader scientific implications of these methodological considerations and briefly discuss possible solutions. |
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Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
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United Kingdom | 17 | 18% |
United States | 14 | 15% |
Germany | 4 | 4% |
Australia | 4 | 4% |
Netherlands | 4 | 4% |
Spain | 4 | 4% |
Japan | 3 | 3% |
Ireland | 3 | 3% |
Canada | 2 | 2% |
Other | 7 | 7% |
Unknown | 33 | 35% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 60 | 63% |
Scientists | 27 | 28% |
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 5 | 5% |
Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 3 | 3% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 10 | 3% |
Germany | 9 | 3% |
United Kingdom | 9 | 3% |
Netherlands | 4 | 1% |
Italy | 2 | <1% |
Sweden | 2 | <1% |
Portugal | 1 | <1% |
Spain | 1 | <1% |
Australia | 1 | <1% |
Other | 0 | 0% |
Unknown | 259 | 87% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Ph. D. Student | 79 | 27% |
Researcher | 71 | 24% |
Student > Master | 36 | 12% |
Student > Doctoral Student | 16 | 5% |
Student > Bachelor | 16 | 5% |
Other | 47 | 16% |
Unknown | 33 | 11% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Psychology | 97 | 33% |
Neuroscience | 48 | 16% |
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 41 | 14% |
Medicine and Dentistry | 21 | 7% |
Physics and Astronomy | 12 | 4% |
Other | 33 | 11% |
Unknown | 46 | 15% |