Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

CONCEPTUAL ORGANIZATION

Re-conceptualizing domains in neuroscience, hopes and utopias aside

Nature Neuroscience volume 24, pages 1643–1644 (2021)Cite this article

Subjects

Describing cognitive processes without reference to their neural underpinnings has led to conceptualizations that do not match how the brain functions. A data-driven re-examination of the neuroimaging literature reveals an alternate conceptual framework combining mind and brain that disrupts current neuroscientific thought.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Borges, J. L. in Selected Non-fictions (E. Weinberger, ed.) 229–232 (Viking Penguin, 1999).

  2. Gonzalez-Castillo, J. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 109, 5487–5492 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Shulman, R. G. & Rothman, D. L. Front. Hum. Neurosci 13, 28 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Cepelewicz, J. in Quanta Magazine https://www.quantamagazine.org/mental-phenomena-dont-map-into-the-brain-as-expected-20210824/ (24 August 2021).

  5. Beam, E., Potts, C., Poldrack, R. A. & Etkin, A. Nat. Neurosci. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-021-00948-9 (2021).

  6. Turner, J. A. & Laird, A. R. Neuroinformatics 10, 57–66 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Laird, A. R. et al. Front. Neuroinform. 3, 23 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Turner, M. D. et al. Front. Neurosci. 7, 240 (2013).

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Riedel, M. C. et al. Front. Neurosci. 13, 494 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Yarkoni, T., Poldrack, R. A., Nichols, T. E., Van Essen, D. C. & Wager, T. D. Nat. Methods 8, 665–670 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Alhazmi, F. H., Beaton, D. & Abdi, H. Hum. Brain Mapp. 39, 2764–2776 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Phillips, M. L. & Vieta, E. Schizophrenia Bull. 33, 893–904 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology Department, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Jessica A. Turner & Matthew D. Turner

  2. Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Jessica A. Turner

Authors
  1. Jessica A. Turner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Matthew D. Turner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jessica A. Turner.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Turner, J.A., Turner, M.D. Re-conceptualizing domains in neuroscience, hopes and utopias aside. Nat Neurosci 24, 1643–1644 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-021-00946-x

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-021-00946-x

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing