Apply a skeptic’s careful eye


	Apply a skeptic’s careful eye

einbar

10-3-2008 3:17 PM

289 views

einbar says:

"1. Unnatural environment for cognition
2. Scans are indirect measurements of brain activity.
3. Colors exaggerate the effects in the brain.
4. Brain images are statistical compilations.
5. Brain areas activate for various reasons."

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<div style="margin: 12px 0px; font-family: arial; color: #333333; background: #ffffff; border: solid 4px #e5e5e5; width: 100%; clear: left;"><div class="CM_CTB_Content_Wrap" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;background-color: #ffffff;"><div style="border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;" ><a href="http://clipmarks.com/clip-to-blog/" title="see clips that are hot right now"><img src="http://content.clipmarks.com/blog_embed/74a3ee05-644d-40be-90ce-2eeedc20a3c4/538D5936-22B0-4217-BF5D-7739DA2672D4/" alt="" width="19" height="19" border="0" style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;" /></a>clipped from <a title="http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=five-ways-brain-scans-mislead-us" href="http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=five-ways-brain-scans-mislead-us" style="font-size: 11px;">www.sciam.com</a></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=five-ways-brain-scans-mislead-us"><div align="center"><img src="http://content8.clipmarks.com/blog_cache/www.sciam.com/img/4E4BE098-B805-458D-9C5C-91EAC1F92FB9" alt="" /></div></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=five-ways-brain-scans-mislead-us"><H2>Colorful scans have lulled us into an oversimplified conception of the brain as a modular machine</H2></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=five-ways-brain-scans-mislead-us">Scientists often use metaphors such as these as aids in understanding and explaining complex processes, but this practice necessarily oversimplifies the intricate and subtle realities of the physical world</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=five-ways-brain-scans-mislead-us">Technologies such as functional magnetic resonance imaging have helped science gain new insights, but overreliance on their use has also presented an oversimplified and sometimes misleading picture of brain operation.</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=five-ways-brain-scans-mislead-us">So let me explain what such images actually can and cannot show, by giving you a closer look at the capabilities and operation of fMRI, perhaps the most commonly trumpeted imaging technique. After you have read this article, you will be able to apply a skeptic’s careful eye to better appraise any brain studies that you come across in future media headlines. Here are five flaws of brain scans:</blockquote></div><div style="margin: 0px 6px 6px 4px;"><table style="font-size: 11px;border-spacing: 0px;padding: 0px;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;">&nbsp;</td><td align="right" style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;width:107px" width="107"><a href="http://clipmarks.com/share/538D5936-22B0-4217-BF5D-7739DA2672D4/blog/" title="blog or email this clip"><img src="http://content9.clipmarks.com/images/c2b-foot.png" border="0" alt="blog it" width="107" height="17" style="border-width:0px;padding:0px;margin:0px;" /></a></td></tr></table></div></div>

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