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Progress and challenges in probing the human brain

Nature volume 526, pages 371–379 (2015)Cite this article

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Abstract

Perhaps one of the greatest scientific challenges is to understand the human brain. Here we review current methods in human neuroscience, highlighting the ways that they have been used to study the neural bases of the human mind. We begin with a consideration of different levels of description relevant to human neuroscience, from molecules to large-scale networks, and then review the methods that probe these levels and the ability of these methods to test hypotheses about causal mechanisms. Functional MRI is considered in particular detail, as it has been responsible for much of the recent growth of human neuroscience research. We briefly review its inferential strengths and weaknesses and present examples of new analytic approaches that allow inferences beyond simple localization of psychological processes. Finally, we review the prospects for real-world applications and new scientific challenges for human neuroscience.

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Figure 1: Different approaches to the analysis of fMRI data.
Figure 2: A mapping of high-dimensional semantic space onto the cortical surface.
Figure 3: New methods for characterizing the postmortem human brain.
Figure 4: A ‘connectogram’90 for an example healthy adult female subject.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks to I. Eisenberg, D. Glahn, R. Raizada, and M. Shine for comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript, and N. Logothetis for helpful discussions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, 94305, California, USA

    Russell A. Poldrack

  2. Center for Neuroscience & Society, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 19104, Pennsylvania, USA

    Martha J. Farah

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R.P. and M.F. planned and wrote the paper.

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Correspondence to Russell A. Poldrack.

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Poldrack, R., Farah, M. Progress and challenges in probing the human brain. Nature 526, 371–379 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature15692

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