a thoughtful web.
Good ideas and conversation. No ads, no tracking.   Login or Take a Tour!
comment
iammyownrushmore  ·  4004 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Male and Female Brains Really Are NOT Built Differently

There's also lot of issues with the way that this data is acquired and analyzed as well, DTI, fMRI and related imaging tech that we have provides nothing more than indirect correlation that cannot be trusted on it's own. The initial idea even that female and male brains ARE built differently is not cemented by this line of research. As for the research cited in this study, as I understand it, the variance in the data wasn't even very significant.

most important line in the article, as far as I am concerned:

    "DTI provides only indirect measures of structural connectivity and is, therefore, different from the well validated microscopic techniques that show the real anatomy of axonal connections," says Marco Catani, of London's Institute of Psychiatry. "Images of the brain derived from diffusion tensor MRI should not be equated to real connections and results should always be interpreted with extreme caution."

The ease and hype that comes with brain imaging, coupled with the "publish or perish" attitude and decreases in funding has put a lot neuroscience in very shady spot ethically, imo.