TY - JOUR
T1 - From Scanner to Sound Bite
T2 - Issues in Interpreting and Reporting Sex Differences in the Brain
AU - Fine, Cordelia
PY - 2010/10
Y1 - 2010/10
N2 - Neuroimaging research is yielding reports of sex differences in the brain. Yet the likelihood of spurious findings of sex differences, the teething problems of new technology, the obscurity of the relation between brain structure and psychological function, and difficulties inferring mental states from neuroimaging data all require us to be considerably cautious in interpreting such results. Unfortunately, these issues are often overlooked in popular accounts. Together with a tendency for people to regard neuroscientific information as more scientific than behavioral data, and as indicative of male and female "nature," these issues point to the worrisome possibility of public misunderstanding of what contemporary neuroscience tells us about gender.
AB - Neuroimaging research is yielding reports of sex differences in the brain. Yet the likelihood of spurious findings of sex differences, the teething problems of new technology, the obscurity of the relation between brain structure and psychological function, and difficulties inferring mental states from neuroimaging data all require us to be considerably cautious in interpreting such results. Unfortunately, these issues are often overlooked in popular accounts. Together with a tendency for people to regard neuroscientific information as more scientific than behavioral data, and as indicative of male and female "nature," these issues point to the worrisome possibility of public misunderstanding of what contemporary neuroscience tells us about gender.
KW - gender
KW - neuroethics
KW - neuroimaging
KW - science communication
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=78649402498&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0963721410383248
DO - 10.1177/0963721410383248
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:78649402498
SN - 0963-7214
VL - 19
SP - 280
EP - 283
JO - Current Directions in Psychological Science
JF - Current Directions in Psychological Science
IS - 5
ER -