Forward inference using functional neuroimaging: dissociations versus associations

@article{Henson2006ForwardIU,
  title={Forward inference using functional neuroimaging: dissociations versus associations},
  author={Richard N. A. Henson},
  journal={Trends in Cognitive Sciences},
  year={2006},
  volume={10},
  pages={64-69}
}
  • R. Henson
  • Published 1 February 2006
  • Psychology, Medicine
  • Trends in Cognitive Sciences
Many people are excited by functional neuroimaging as a new tool for cognitive science; many others are sceptical. In this opinion article, I describe a 'forward inference' that one can make from patterns of brain activity to distinguish between cognitive theories. I give an example of forward inferences in research on recognition memory, and outline some statistical criteria for a 'qualitative difference' in brain activity. Forward inferences resemble the dissociation logic long-used in… 
View on Elsevier
isites.harvard.edu
254 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
16
Background Citations
109
Methods Citations
34
Results Citations
7

254 Citations

Citation Type

Citation Type

Can cognitive processes be inferred from neuroimaging data?
  • R. Poldrack
  • Medicine, Psychology
    Trends in Cognitive Sciences
  • 2006
TLDR
It is argued that cognitive neuroscientists should be circumspect in the use of reverse inference, particularly when selectivity of the region in question cannot be established or is known to be weak.
Mental Function and Cerebral Cartography: Functional Localization in fMRI Research
This dissertation advances a novel philosophical account of the relationship between brain mapping and cognitive theorizing in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research. I argue that…
The role of fMRI in Cognitive Neuroscience: where do we stand?
  • R. Poldrack
  • Medicine, Psychology
    Current Opinion in Neurobiology
  • 2008
TLDR
Some of the limits on the kinds of inferences that can be supported by fMRI are outlined, focusing particularly on reverse inference, in which the engagement of specific mental processes is inferred from patterns of brain activation.
Experimental design and interpretation of functional neuroimaging studies of cognitive processes
  • D. Caplan
  • Psychology, Medicine
    Human brain mapping
  • 2009
This article discusses how the relation between experimental and baseline conditions in functional neuroimaging studies affects the conclusions that can be drawn from a study about the neural…
Strong inference in functional neuroimaging
A recurring question for cognitive science is whether functional neuroimaging data can provide evidence for or against psychological theories. As posed, the question reflects an adherence to a…
Brain Imaging, Forward Inference, and Theories of Reasoning
  • E. Heit
  • Computer Science, Medicine
    Front. Hum. Neurosci.
  • 2015
TLDR
Brain imaging studies of reasoning, comparing deductive and inductive arguments, comparing meaningful versus non-meaningful material, investigating hemispheric localization, and comparing conditional and relational arguments, are assessed in light of the method of forward inference.
Philosophical Issues in Neuroimaging
Functional neuroimaging (NI) technologies like Positron Emission Tomography and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) have revolutionized neuroscience, and provide crucial tools to link…
Functional MRI: Approaches to Cognitive Neuroscience Applications
Neuroimaging has, in many respects, revolutionized the study of cognitive neuroscience, the discipline that attempts to determine the neural mechanisms underlying cognitive processes. Early studies…
Functional Neuroimaging and Psychology: What Have You Done for Me Lately?
TLDR
Three trends are described that increase precisely this relevance of brain mapping, isolating neural markers of information processing steps to better understand complex tasks and psychological phenomena through probabilistic reverse inference, and using brain activity to predict subsequent behavior.
Mixtures and Psychological Inference with Resting State fMRI
In this essay, we examine the use of resting state fMRI data for psychological inferences. We argue that resting state studies hold the paired promises of discovering novel functional brain networks,…
...
1
2
3
4
5
...

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 45 REFERENCES
Can cognitive processes be inferred from neuroimaging data?
  • R. Poldrack
  • Medicine, Psychology
    Trends in Cognitive Sciences
  • 2006
TLDR
It is argued that cognitive neuroscientists should be circumspect in the use of reverse inference, particularly when selectivity of the region in question cannot be established or is known to be weak.
What can Functional Neuroimaging Tell the Experimental Psychologist?
  • R. Henson
  • Psychology, Medicine
    The Quarterly journal of experimental psychology. A, Human experimental psychology
  • 2005
I argue here that functional neuroimaging data—which I restrict to the haemodynamic techniques of fMRI and PET—can inform psychological theorizing, provided one assumes a “systematic”…
Human recognition memory: a cognitive neuroscience perspective
TLDR
Results from neuropsychological, ERP and functional neuroimaging studies can be accommodated within the dual-process framework, and suggest that familiarity and recollection are supported by distinct neural mechanisms.
Brain imaging and cognitive neuroscience. Toward strong inference in attributing function to structure.
TLDR
A conceptual framework to advance the interpretation of data describing the relationships between cognitive phenomena and brain structure activity is provided and a broad discussion about the virtues and limitations of such conclusions are discussed.
Confidence in Recognition Memory for Words: Dissociating Right Prefrontal Roles in Episodic Retrieval
TLDR
These results further support the proposal that different subregions of the prefrontal cortex subserve different functions during episodic retrieval, and are discussed in relation to a monitoring process, which operates when familiarity levels are close to response criterion and is associated with nonconfident judgements, and a recollective process which isassociated with the confident recognition of old words.
Brain Imaging, Connectionism, and Cognitive Neuropsychology
  • M. Coltheart
  • Psychology, Medicine
    Cognitive neuropsychology
  • 2004
I’m still an ultra-cognitive-neuropsychologist after all these years, and so my comments on Trevor Harley’s most interesting book review will be from that perspective.…
Functional Neuroimages Fail to Discover Pieces of Mind in the Parts of the Brain
TLDR
The method of positron emission tomography (PET imaging) illustrates the circular logic popular in subtractive neuroimaging and linear reductive cognitive psychology, which has failed to yield general, reliable, componential accounts.
The Nature of Recollection and Familiarity: A Review of 30 Years of Research
To account for dissociations observed in recognition memory tests, several dual-process models have been proposed that assume that recognition judgments can be based on the recollection of details…
Recollection and familiarity in recognition memory: an event-related fMRI study
The question of whether recognition memory judgments with and without recollection reflect dissociable patterns of brain activity is unresolved. We used event-related, functional magnetic resonance…
Dissociable correlates of recollection and familiarity within the medial temporal lobes
Regions in the medial temporal lobes (MTL) have long been implicated in the formation of new memories for events, however, it is unclear whether different MTL subregions support different memory…
...
1
2
3
4
5
...