A Neuroimage is Worth a Thousand Transformations: The Deceptive Epistemic Value of Neuroimagery

Abstract

The similarity of neuroimages to photographs connotes a false inferential proximity that obscures the highly correlational nature of the data it represents.  As neuroimaging data plays an increasingly salient role in our lives – spurring ethical debates, informing diagnostic criteria, etc. – communicating neuroscientific findings clearly to the public becomes ever more critical.  By exploring the multilayered analysis embedded within neuroimages, this paper comments on how the dissemination of findings is as critical as methodology in knowledge creation.  A society that is spoon-fed results, without understanding the underlying structure and assumptions, will be ill-prepared to navigate the corresponding complexity of neuroscientific findings.