Neurotalk: improving the communication of neuroscience research

Two-Eyed Seeing and other Indigenous perspectives for neuroscience

The integration of Indigenous perspectives and knowledge with biomedical approaches in neurosciences can significantly broaden the understanding of the human brain and mind. Drawing upon the writings of Elders in Canada, we refer to this integration as Two-Eyed Seeing or Etuaptmumk. We discuss how Two-Eyed Seeing and other dual perspectives can bring both breadth of knowledge and humility to the development of research and clinical practices for brain health. In this forward-looking discussion, we include both traditional academic and non-academic traditions and the work of Indigenous scholars on methodologies, life, health, culture, language and history. To describe challenges and consider solutions, we offer broad strategies for allyship, humility and universalism and situate them in four specific examples pertaining to disability, suicide, migration and the environment. We further advance the power of Two-Eyed Seeing in the context of new considerations for communication and public engagement. Two-Eyed Seeing, per se, is only one approach, but as neuroscience becomes ever more global, inclusive and ethically proactive, it must universally see the world of brain and mental health through the eyes of both reductionism and holism.

Possible reasons for reductive seductions: A reply to Wilson et al

Wilson et al. (2025) report a failed attempt to replicate the reductive allure effect: Unlike prior work, they do not find that participants judged explanations of scientific phenomena to be higher quality when they contained irrelevant reductive language. The current commentary considers three possible reasons for this failure to replicate: (1) a change in the nature of online study participants, (2) a change in the background knowledge that people bring to judgments of scientific explanations, and (3) a change in the kinds of explanations that people find satisfying.

Where did pre-service teachers, teachers, and the general public learn neuromyths? Insights to support teacher training

BACKGROUND

Neuromyths may negatively influence teacher practice. Knowing where people learned misinformation can prevent its propagation and improve teacher training.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the prevalence of neuromyths, their sources, and whether they influence teacher practice.

METHOD

157 participants (teachers, pre-service teachers, and the general public), assessed four neuromyths statements on a 4-point Likert scale. They indicate their sources, and if they were educators, whether they influenced their teacher practice.

RESULTS

Participants showed over 50 % agreement in neuromyths, and approximately 30 % of teachers reported using teaching strategies based on these misconceptions. Information sources included social media, instructional materials, books, as well as interactions with peers.

CONCLUSION

These results underscore the need to avoid the spread of neuromyths, especially the learning styles myth, targeting training courses and educational materials. Most teachers remember where they learned about neuromyths, which may help to identify the sources.

Increasing Accessibility to Neuroscience through Translation: Going beyond the English Language

Declaring the 1990s as The Decade of the Brain put the field of neuroscience at the forefront of public attention, with the nervous system becoming a subject of increasing interest in popular media. Although this has generally brought large swaths of the public closer to neuroscience, most current research is published and disseminated in a single language: English. This is unsurprising as English is indeed the lingua franca in scientific circles, but people around the world communicate in many other languages. To make neuroscience accessible to a larger audience, we share an initiative to translate the Knowing Neurons platform into a second language: Spanish. This collaborative project integrates humanities and STEM academic programs to make use of bilingual university students, in association with professional linguists and neuroscientists, to translate scientific content into a relatable format to Spanish speakers regardless of their country of origin. The translation effort was piloted within the framework of undergraduate outreach courses at the University of California, Los Angeles, and is coupled with outreach components targeting the Spanish-speaking community to promote this new resource. This project aims to foster an environment where the neuroscientific interests of the public, college students, instructors, and researchers coalesce in a unified space. We hope that opening new lines of communication with traditionally underrepresented communities might help combat the persistent lack of diversity in neuroscience (and STEM) that is currently seen in academia. We also provide an outline to inspire others to translate these, and similar resources, into other languages.

Poppy Seed Consumption and Oral Fluid Opioids Detection: A Classroom Demonstration of Psychopharmacological Concepts

Psychopharmacological concepts such as pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and drug interactions can be difficult to illustrate within the college classroom. In this demonstration, students consume poppy seed-containing food items, assess opioid content in their oral fluid using commercial drug test kits, and relate the findings to learned materials, its real-life applications, and relevant societal implications. This demonstration can clarify processes such as drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME), broaden the review of information relevant to opioids mechanisms of action, and facilitate the discussion of topics such as drug abuse, dependence, and addiction, as well as drug development, testing, policy, and enforcement. Instructors can employ different experimental designs, create dose-dependent/timeline detection plots, or allow students to construct their own experiments, assessing possible mediators of opioid detection. The demonstration can also be utilized to discuss scientific myths, truths, data misinterpretation and misrepresentation. Several optional protocols are provided, required materials are indicated, and discussion points are suggested.

Neuromyths and knowledge about intellectual giftedness in a highly educated multilingual country

Introduction

Understanding brain functioning and intellectual giftedness can be challenging and give rise to various misconceptions. Nonetheless, there seems to be a widespread fascination and appetite for these subjects among the lay public and diverse professionals. The present study is the first to investigate general knowledge about the brain, neuromyths and knowledge about giftedness in a highly multilingual and educated country.

Methods

Starting from and extending two seminal studies on neuromyths, several novel statements on intellectual giftedness have been included in order to explore knowledge and misconceptions concerning giftedness. Our sample (N = 200) was composed of Luxembourgish education professionals, including students in educational science and cognitive psychology, thus allowing to analyze responses in general and according to training and professional profiles. Specifically, Group 1 consisted of teachers and futures teachers (n = 152). Group 2 consisted of other education professionals and psychology students (n = 48).

Results

Despite the size and the unbalanced distribution of the sample, our findings indicate a good level of general knowledge about the brain and learning (71.3% of correct responses in average) which does, however, not preclude the presence of the typically observed original neuromyths. Thus, we replicate the classical finding that misconceptions on Learning Styles (70% of error rate) and the Multiple Intelligence Theory (71.5% of error rate) are the most represented, both in (future and in-service) teachers and other education professionals. Moreover, the present sample also revealed a high presence of misconceptions on intellectual giftedness.

Discussion

Limitations and future directions are discussed.

Development of Korea Neuroethics Guidelines

BACKGROUND

Advances in neuroscience and neurotechnology provide great benefits to humans though unknown challenges may arise. We should address these challenges using new standards as well as existing ones. Novel standards should include ethical, legal, and social aspects which would be appropriate for advancing neuroscience and technology. Therefore, the Korea Neuroethics Guidelines were developed by stakeholders related to neuroscience and neurotechnology, including experts, policy makers, and the public in the Republic of Korea.

METHOD

The guidelines were drafted by neuroethics experts, were disclosed at a public hearing, and were subsequently revised by opinions of various stakeholders.

RESULTS

The guidelines are composed of twelve issues; humanity or human dignity, individual personality and identity, social justice, safety, sociocultural prejudice and public communication, misuse of technology, responsibility for the use of neuroscience and technology, specificity according to the purpose of using neurotechnology, autonomy, privacy and personal information, research, and enhancement.

CONCLUSION

Although the guidelines may require a more detailed discussion after future advances in neuroscience and technology or changes in socio-cultural milieu, the development of the Korea Neuroethics Guidelines is a milestone for the scientific community and society in general for the ongoing development in neuroscience and neurotechnology.

Machine-Learning Methods for Speech and Handwriting Detection Using Neural Signals: A Review

Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) have become increasingly popular in recent years due to their potential applications in diverse fields, ranging from the medical sector (people with motor and/or communication disabilities), cognitive training, gaming, and Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality (AR/VR), among other areas. BCI which can decode and recognize neural signals involved in speech and handwriting has the potential to greatly assist individuals with severe motor impairments in their communication and interaction needs. Innovative and cutting-edge advancements in this field have the potential to develop a highly accessible and interactive communication platform for these people. The purpose of this review paper is to analyze the existing research on handwriting and speech recognition from neural signals. So that the new researchers who are interested in this field can gain thorough knowledge in this research area. The current research on neural signal-based recognition of handwriting and speech has been categorized into two main types: invasive and non-invasive studies. We have examined the latest papers on converting speech-activity-based neural signals and handwriting-activity-based neural signals into text data. The methods of extracting data from the brain have also been discussed in this review. Additionally, this review includes a brief summary of the datasets, preprocessing techniques, and methods used in these studies, which were published between 2014 and 2022. This review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of the methodologies used in the current literature on neural signal-based recognition of handwriting and speech. In essence, this article is intended to serve as a valuable resource for future researchers who wish to investigate neural signal-based machine-learning methods in their work.

Fostering openness in open science: An ethical discussion of risks and benefits

Transformation of science by embracing the concepts of open science presents a very attractive strategy to enhance the reliability of science. Open science policies embody the concepts of open data and open access that encompass sharing of resources, dissemination of ideas, and synergizing the collaborative forums of research. Despite the opportunities in openness, however, there are grave ethical concerns too, and they present a dual-use dilemma. Access to sensitive information is seen as a security risk, and it also possesses other concerns such as confidentiality, privacy, and affordability. There are arguments that open science can be harmful to marginalized groups. Through this study, we aim to discuss the opportunities of open science, as well as the ethical and security aspects, which require further deliberation before full-fledged acceptance in the science community.

Neuroscience Ambassadors: Creating a Network of Academia-CommunityPartnerships

The field of neuroscience offers exciting, yet complex, insights into the human mind. In recent years, the need to improve the dialogue between neuroscientists and the public has been recognized, and an emphasis has been placed on the generation of public-based educational programs which reach outside the academic environment and into the community. One promising avenue includes the generation of mutually beneficial academia-community partnerships. These have the potential to allow faculty and students to acquire the necessary skills to become effective "neuroscience ambassadors", while delivering attractive, fun, informative and educational opportunities to the general public. The Department of Psychology/Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Minor at Saint Francis University (SFU) created a public-oriented, neuroscience-based network of educational programs with local public libraries, Girl and Cub scout troops, elementary schools, high schools, children museums and nursing homes, in rural Pennsylvania. We envisioned that the programs will serve to improve academia-community conversations and benefit students, faculty, community partners and the public alike. In this paper, the design, implementation, implications, limitations, and future directions of the project are discussed.

The dissemination of brain imaging guidelines and recommendations

Many neuroimaging guidelines and recommendations have been published in the literature to guide fellow researchers to conduct and report research findings in a standardized manner. It was largely unknown if they were cited or read by the scientific community. Analyses were conducted to assess their impact in terms of citations, Twitter posts, and Mendeley reads. Web of Science Core Collection database was accessed to identify relevant publications. The number of their Twitter posts and Mendeley reads were recorded from Altmetric and Mendeley databases respectively. Spearman correlation tests were conducted to evaluate if the citation count had a relationship with these metrics. When all 1786 publications were considered, citation count had a strong positive correlation with Mendeley reads (rho = 0.602, p < 0.001), but a weak negative correlation with Twitter posts (rho = −0.085, p < 0.001). When publications in the 2010 s were specifically considered, citation count had an even stronger positive correlation with Mendeley reads (rho = 0.712, P < 0.001), whereas the correlation with Twitter posts became positive but still weak (rho = 0.072, P = 0.012). Temporal profiles of citation and Mendeley counts showed that these guidelines and recommendations had a relatively stable influence in the field for years after being published.

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1786 publications providing neuroimaging guidelines and recommendations were analyzed.

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Citation count had a strong positive correlation with Mendeley reads.

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Citation count had a weak negative correlation with Twitter posts.

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It had a weak positive correlation with Twitter posts for publications in the 2010s.

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Temporal profiles of citation and Mendeley counts showed their stable influence.

Elevating neuroscience literacy and an approach for physiologists

The field of neuroscience has made notable strides that have contributed to progress and change in a number of academic pursuits. However, the lack of understanding of basic neuroscience concepts among the general public is likely to hinder, and in some instances possibly even prevent, the appropriate application of scientific advancements to issues facing society today. Greater neuroscience literacy among the general public is necessary for the benefits of neuroscientific discovery to be fully realized. By actively enhancing neuroscience literacy, scientists can dispel falsehoods established by early research that harmed underrepresented communities, ensure that public conversations concerning neuroscience (e.g., legalization of psychotropic substances) revolve around facts, and empower individuals to make better health decisions. The widespread implementation of communication technologies and various forms of media indicate there are numerous means to engage classroom learners across disciplines and age cohorts and the public to increase neuroscience knowledge. Thus, it is not only necessary but timely that neuroscientists seek meaningful ways to bridge the widening knowledge gap with the public.

Lay Public View of Neuroscience and Science-Based Brain Health Recommendations in Slovenia

Background: Brain health is one of the cornerstones of a long and full life. Active care for brain health and reduction of lifestyle-related risks for brain disorders may be a key strategy in tackling the growing prevalence of mental and neurological illnesses. Public knowledge, perception, and preventive behavior need to be considered in the planning of effective strategies for brain health promotion. Our research is the first effort aimed at assessing Slovenian lay public knowledge, search and use of scientific information about the brain, and care for brain health.

Methods: An online survey was used to gather data for descriptive and associative statistical analyses of a sample of the Slovenian public (n = 2568) in August 2017. Participants with formal brain-related education were excluded, leaving the remaining sample of the lay public (n = 1012). Demographic characteristics and information regarding the perceived importance and knowledge of brain health and engagement in preventive behaviors of participants were collected, and key associative analyses were carried out.

Results: The majority of respondents (89%) considered brain health to be important. Over one-third (39%) considered their knowledge of the brain as sufficient relative to their needs. Most of the respondents identified science-recommended practices to be important for brain health. No recommendation was followed daily by the majority of the respondents, primarily due to declared lack of time (59%), and lack of information (32%). Information was obtained primarily from television (38%), followed by newspapers and magazines (31%), the Internet (31%), and direct conversations (27%). However, the highest-rated, preferred source of information was lectured by experts. One-third of our sample struggled with the trustworthiness of information sources. Female gender and older age were associated with a higher frequency of healthy practices. Personal or familial diagnoses of brain disorders were not associated with a higher frequency of the behavior in favor of brain health, but did affect available time and perceived value of preventive practices.

Conclusions: Our research provides an initial insight into the perceptions, knowledge, and brain health-promoting behavior of the Slovenian lay public. Our findings can inform future strategies for science communication, public education and engagement, and policy-making to improve lifelong active care for brain health.

A marathon, not a sprint - neuroimaging, Open Science and ethics

Open Science is calling for a radical re-thinking of existing scientific practices. Within the neuroimaging community, Open Science practices are taking the form of open data repositories and open lab notebooks. The broad sharing of data that accompanies Open Science, however, raises some difficult ethical and legal issues. With neuroethics as a focusing lens, we explore eight central concerns posed by open data with regard to human brain imaging studies: respect for individuals and communities, concern for marginalized communities, consent, privacy protections, participatory research designs, contextual integrity, fusions of clinical and research goals, and incidental findings. Each consideration assists in bringing nuance to the potential benefits for open data sharing against associated challenges. We combine current understandings with forward-looking solutions to key issues. We conclude by underscoring the need for new policy tools to enhance the potential for responsible open data.

Novel bilateral bifurcation of the coronary vasculature

Multiple variants and anomalies in the coronary vasculature have been reported. Some variants, particularly those with duplication, can be advantageous, many are insignificant and some are ultimately lethal. Many of these variants and anomalies are not identified until imaged or post-mortem. A novel bilateral bifid variation of the coronary arteries was observed in 49-year-old male cadaver. The respective origins were associated with the left and right aortic cusps from single ostia. Immediate bifurcation followed on either side. A right sided accessory branch supplied the pulmonary trunk and right ventricle. A more standard branch continued to form the posterior interventricular artery. The left sided variation demonstrated a solitary circumflex artery (towards the posterior interventricular septum) and, left marginal and anterior interventricular branches shortly after bifurcation. This case may be beneficial in surviving adverse cardiac events, particularly those associated with lifestyle. They also present a ‘double’ challenge for clinicians.

"It's all about delivery": researchers and health professionals' views on the moral challenges of accessing neurobiological information in the context of psychosis

Background

The convergence of neuroscience, genomics, and data science holds promise to unveil the neurobiology of psychosis and to produce new ways of preventing, diagnosing, and treating psychotic illness. Yet, moral challenges arise in neurobiological research and in the clinical translation of research findings. This article investigates the views of relevant actors in mental health on the moral challenges of accessing neurobiological information in the context of psychosis.

Methods

Semi-structured individual interviews with two groups: researchers employed in the National Health Service (NHS) or a university in England (n = 14), and mental health professionals employed in NHS mental health services (n = 14). This article compares results in the two groups (total n = 28).

Results

This article presents findings around three conceptual areas: (1) research ethics as mostly unproblematic, (2) psychosis, neurobiological information, and mental health care, and (3) identity, relationships, and the future. These areas are drawn from the themes and topics that emerged in the interviews across the two groups of participants. Researchers and health professionals provided similar accounts of the moral challenges of accessing—which includes acquisition, communication, and use of—neurobiological information in the context of psychosis. Acquiring neurobiological information was perceived as mostly unproblematic, provided ethical safeguards are put in place. Conversely, participants argued that substantive moral challenges arise from how neurobiological information is delivered—that is, communicated and used—in research and in clinical care. Neurobiological information was seen as a powerful tool in the process through which individuals define their identity and establish personal and clinical goals. The pervasiveness of this narrative tool may influence researchers and health professionals’ perception of ethical principles and moral obligations.

Conclusions

This study suggests that the moral challenges that arise from accessing neurobiological information in the context of psychosis go beyond traditional research and clinical ethics concerns. Reflecting on how accessing neurobiological information can influence individual self-narratives will be vital to ensure the ethical translation of neuroscience and genomics into mental health.

Trial registration

The study did not involve a health care intervention on human participants. It was retrospectively registered on 11 July 2018, registration number: researchregistry4255.

Piloting of the Just Say Know prevention program: a psychoeducational approach to translating the neuroscience of addiction to youth

BACKGROUND

Substance use during adolescence can have a number of negative consequences and interfere with normal brain development. Given limited time and resources, brief group- and school-based prevention programs are an efficient strategy for educating youth about the effects of substance use on health outcomes.

OBJECTIVES

To determine if a science-based, interactive substance prevention program could improve student knowledge and influence students' attitudes toward future substance use behaviors.

METHODS

The Just Say Know program was given to 1,594 middle and high school students. The facilitator engaged students in an interactive, hour-long session covering brain basics and effects of substance use. Students completed an eight-item pre- and post-knowledge-based test to measure learning outcomes along with feedback questions about youths' attitudes toward substance use and the program.

RESULTS

After the program, 94% of students reported that it provided helpful information; 92% reported it may influence their approach to substance use, with 76% specifying that they would delay or cut back on substance use. Knowledge-based test performance increased by 78%, with high schoolers displaying significantly higher scores than middle schoolers, but both showing similar improvements in scores. Students who reported higher levels of friends' substance use had smaller improvements from pre- to posttest.

CONCLUSION

Results suggest Just Say Know, a scientifically-based prevention program, is effective in increasing adolescents' program based-knowledge, has the potential to affect youths' attitudes toward substance use, and is well-received. These findings provide preliminary evidence that a cost-effective, neuroscience-informed group prevention program might reduce or delay adolescents' future substance use.

Ethical Considerations in Chronic Brain Injury

A growing number of individuals are living with chronic traumatic brain injury. As these individuals and their families attempt to reintegrate into their communities, several ethical questions arise for clinicians and researchers. These include issues around alignment of perspectives and priorities, as well as responsibilities for ongoing treatment, education, community outreach, and research. An action plan for addressing these questions is outlined.

Using Technology to Engage the Public in Biomedical Sciences

Biomedical research is a diverse and rapidly evolving subject area. The research and development that takes place as part of the field is aimed at understanding subjects such as diseases, disease progression, their treatment(s), treatment impact on patients as well as the general increase in understanding of the advancement of health sciences. The money and time invested in research is vast and discovery of novel data and production of publication(s) is seen as success. However in today's connected world scientists have to do more to ensure that their research and the impact thereof, is better communicated to the wider audiences. One of the major means to do this is via public engagement, of which there are many ways to achieve this. Advances in technology have led to interactive and immersive visual technologies that enable the next phase of public engagement to be available to a greater audience.

Responsible Research and Innovation as a Novel Approach to Guide Educational Impact of Mind, Brain, and Education Research

We propose a Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) framework to improve the alignment between mind, brain, and education (MBE) research, the educational practice, and other societal stakeholders. RRI is an approach that has successfully been used in different research fields, but not yet in MBE research. After substantiating the need for, and possibilities of using this framework within MBE research, we report a case study to demonstrate the feasibility and benefits of RRI within an MBE context. This case study entails developing an educational intervention to improve learners' sense of agency regarding their own learning processes using neurofeedback. Using RRI, we found that societal stakeholders (teenagers, parents, and teachers) anticipate different potential impacts of this neurotechnology-based intervention than researchers did, enabling us to adapt the intervention according to these perspectives. This example demonstrates that RRI enables researchers to be reflexive and responsive to the stakeholders needs and values, to ultimately improve the educational and societal value of MBE research.

Monitoring public awareness about the endangered northern bald ibis: a case study involving primary school children as citizen scientists

Background

Citizen science has evolved over the past decades by motivating members of the public to interact with scientists and actively participate in scientific research and monitoring. For this purpose, a proficient communication is mandatory in order to efficiently convey messages and reduce the gap of knowledge between scientists and lay people. In the present study, we aimed at evaluating the multiplying effect of children, who were trained to communicate their knowledge on an endangered bird species in order to engage the local community in the long-term ornithological monitoring of the free flying and individually marked colony of northern bald ibis (NBI, Geronticus eremita), which was established at the research station in 1997.

Methods

Pupils of the local primary schools were in regular contact with researchers, enjoyed outdoor encounters with the birds, and were invited to talk about their experience with as many people as possible. Later on, they acted as surveyors to assess the knowledge of the public on (i) the general knowledge about the species, (ii) specific knowledge about the local colony, and (iii) attitudes towards science. In two different years of evaluation (2012 and 2016) a total number of 387 persons were surveyed. The questions were generated together with the pupils and their teachers and the questionnaires were similar for both years of evaluation. All queries were in a closed format.

Results

Our results show an increase in the proportion of correct answers provided by the surveyed persons between the two years of evaluation. Education-based activities may encourage children to effectively act as multipliers of information and attitudes. This has the potential to induce sustainable changes with respect to attitude towards science, at least among local communities. Furthermore, the study suggests caution with the quality of some information reported by citizen scientists, which might be solved by more careful training actions and more specific information about local particularities. Even though the study would have gained more informative power with some additional precautions than in its current form, our findings recommend the empowerment of pupils as multipliers of scientific knowledge.

The contribution of microbiology to neuroscience: More complex than it seems?

The overblown, somewhat dramatic media interpretation of microbiota-gut-brain literature is highly misleading. This phenomenon is not new to neuroscience, wherein rapidly evolving research fields struggle to translate findings into clinical practice. Advances in microbiology might integrate our understanding of complex biological pathways that should be interpreted within neuropsychiatric symptom dimensions rather than specific disorders.

From the Wet Lab to the Web Lab: A Paradigm Shift in Brain Imaging Research

Web technology has transformed our lives, and has led to a paradigm shift in the computational sciences. As the neuroimaging informatics research community amasses large datasets to answer complex neuroscience questions, we find that the web is the best medium to facilitate novel insights by way of improved collaboration and communication. Here, we review the landscape of web technologies used in neuroimaging research, and discuss future applications, areas for improvement, and the limitations of using web technology in research. Fully incorporating web technology in our research lifecycle requires not only technical skill, but a widespread culture change; a shift from the small, focused "wet lab" to a multidisciplinary and largely collaborative "web lab."

Fairness in Knowing: Science Communication and Epistemic Justice

Science communication, as a field and as a practice, is fundamentally about knowledge distribution; it is about the access to, and the sharing of knowledge. All distribution (science communication included) brings with it issues of ethics and justice. Indeed, whether science communicators acknowledge it or not, they get to decide both which knowledge is shared (by choosing which topic is communicated), and who gets access to this knowledge (by choosing which audience it is presented to). As a result, the decisions of science communicators have important implications for epistemic justice: how knowledge is distributed fairly and equitably. This paper presents an overview of issues related to epistemic justice for science communication, and argues that there are two quite distinct ways in which science communicators can be just (or unjust) in the way they distribute knowledge. Both of these paths will be considered before concluding that, at least on one of these accounts, science communication as a field and as a practice is fundamentally epistemically unjust. Possible ways to redress this injustice are suggested.

The Teenage Brain: Public Perceptions of Neurocognitive Development during Adolescence

Over the past decade, important insights have been obtained into the neurocognitive development during adolescence. To better understand how these neuroscientific insights impact the real world, we investigated how neuroscience has shaped public perceptions of the "teenage brain" and if these perceptions influence adolescent behavior. When asking to generate free associations with the word "teenage brain," adolescents ( n = 363, M_age = 14.47 years) and parents ( n = 164, M_age = 47.16 years) more often mention undesirable behaviors (e.g., "irresponsible") than desirable behaviors (e.g., "creative"). Despite these dominantly negative associations, priming adolescents with positively versus negatively framed statements about adolescent brain development did not influence their subsequent risk-taking, impulsivity, and performance on response-to-failure tasks. However, we did find a more nuanced effect, related to how much adolescents agreed with the negative versus positive priming statements: Adolescents' negative beliefs about adolescent brain development reinforced negative behaviors by increased risk-taking behaviors, and adolescents' positive beliefs reinforced positive behaviors by using positive strategies to cope with academic setbacks. The current findings underline the impact of views that build up over time and that these are not easily influenced by a one-time instance of information but rather reinforce the impact of new information. To prevent negative perceptions of the teenage brain from becoming self-fulfilling prophecies, it is important that communication about adolescent neurocognitive development is framed in a more balanced way. Neuroscientists need to be more aware of how their research impacts the real world, before we are fully ready for "real-world neuroscience."

Readability of the 100 Most-Cited Neuroimaging Papers Assessed by Common Readability Formulae

Background: From time to time, neuroimaging research findings receive press coverage and attention by the general public. Scientific articles therefore should be written in a readable manner to facilitate knowledge translation and dissemination. However, no published readability report on neuroimaging articles like those published in education, medical and marketing journals is available. As a start, this study therefore aimed to evaluate the readability of the most-cited neuroimaging articles.

Methods: The 100 most-cited articles in neuroimaging identified in a recent study by Kim et al. (2016) were evaluated. Headings, mathematical equations, tables, figures, footnotes, appendices, and reference lists were trimmed from the articles. The rest was processed for number of characters, words and sentences. Five readability indices that indicate the school grade appropriate for that reading difficulty (Automated Readability Index, Coleman-Liau Index, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Gunning Fog index and Simple Measure of Gobbledygook index) were computed. An average reading grade level (AGL) was calculated by taking the mean of these five indices. The Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) score was also computed. The readability of the trimmed abstracts and full texts was evaluated against number of authors, country of corresponding author, total citation count, normalized citation count, article type, publication year, impact factor of the year published and type of journal.

Results: Mean AGL ± standard deviation (SD) of the trimmed abstracts and full texts were 17.15 ± 2.81 (college graduate level) and 14.22 ± 1.66 (college level) respectively. Mean FRE score ± SD of the abstracts and full texts were 15.70 ± 14.11 (college graduate level) and 32.11 ± 8.56 (college level) respectively. Both items indicated that the full texts were significantly more readable than the abstracts (p < 0.001). Abstract readability was not associated with any factors under investigation. ANCOVAs showed that review/meta-analysis (mean AGL ± SD: 16.0 ± 1.4) and higher impact factor significantly associated with lower readability of the trimmed full texts surveyed.

Conclusion: Concerning the 100 most-cited articles in neuroimaging, the full text appears to be more readable than the abstracts. Experimental articles and methodology papers were more readable than reviews/meta-analyses. Articles published in journals with higher impact factors were less readable.

A Translational Framework of Educational Neuroscience in Learning Disorders

Neuroimaging has undergone enormous progress during the last two and a half decades. The combination of neuroscientific methods and educational practice has become a focus of interdisciplinary research in order to answer more applied questions. In this realm, conditions that hamper learning success and have deleterious effects in the population - such as learning disorders (LD) - could especially profit from neuroimaging findings. At the moment, however, there is an ongoing debate about how far neuroscientific research can go to inform the practical work in educational settings. Here, we put forward a theoretical translational framework as a method of conducting neuroimaging and bridging it to education, with a main focus on dyscalculia and dyslexia. Our work seeks to represent a theoretical but mainly empirical guide on the benefits of neuroimaging, which can help people working with different aspects of LD, who need to act collaboratively to reach the full potential of neuroimaging. We provide possible ideas regarding how neuroimaging can inform LD at different levels within our multidirectional framework, i.e., mechanisms, diagnosis/prognosis, training/intervention, and community/education. In addition, we discuss methodological, conceptual, and structural limitations that need to be addressed by future research.

Resilience, trust, and civic engagement in the post-CCSVI era

Background

Scientific and financial investments in chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) research have been made to address both the hope for and scepticism over this interventional strategy for MS. Despite limited evidence in support of the CCSVI hypothesis, the funding of clinical research was responsive to a demand by the public rarely seen in the history of medicine. We characterize patient perspectives about the CCSVI research trajectory, with particular attention to its impact on other non-pharmaceutical areas of MS research with a focus on stem cell interventions.

Methods

Semi-structured interviews with 20 MS patients across Canada who did not have CCSVI interventions. Interviews were analysed for recurring themes and individual variations using the constant comparative approach.

Results

Participants had a critical view of the divestment of funds from longstanding research to support CCSVI trials. They retain a sense of optimism, however, about emerging evidence for stem cell interventions for MS, and highlight the need for greater caution and conscientious communication of advances in medicine and science.

Conclusions

The unrealized hopes for CCSVI challenged but did not undermine the resilience of patient communities. The narrative that unfolded highlights the importance of drawing a socially-minded space for public participation in science.

Media Portrayal of a Landmark Neuroscience Experiment on Free Will

The concept of free will has been heavily debated in philosophy and the social sciences. Its alleged importance lies in its association with phenomena fundamental to our understandings of self, such as autonomy, freedom, self-control, agency, and moral responsibility. Consequently, when neuroscience research is interpreted as challenging or even invalidating this concept, a number of heated social and ethical debates surface. We undertook a content analysis of media coverage of Libet's et al.'s (Brain 106(Pt 3):623-642, 1983) landmark study, which is frequently interpreted as posing a serious challenge to the existence of free will. Media descriptions of Libet et al.'s experiment provided limited details about the original study. Overall, many media articles reported that Libet et al.'s experiments undermined the existence of free will, despite acknowledging that several methodological limitations had been identified in the literature. A propensity to attribute greater credibility than warranted to neurobiological explanations could be at stake.

Responsible Reporting: Neuroimaging News in the Age of Responsible Research and Innovation

Besides offering opportunities in both clinical and non-clinical domains, the application of novel neuroimaging technologies raises pressing dilemmas. 'Responsible Research and Innovation' (RRI) aims to stimulate research and innovation activities that take ethical and social considerations into account from the outset. We previously identified that Dutch neuroscientists interpret "responsible innovation" as educating the public on neuroimaging technologies via the popular press. Their aim is to mitigate (neuro)hype, an aim shared with the wider emerging RRI community. Here, we present results of a media-analysis undertaken to establish whether the body of articles in the Dutch popular press presents balanced conversations on neuroimaging research to the public. We found that reporting was mostly positive and framed in terms of (healthcare) progress. There was rarely a balance between technology opportunities and limitations, and even fewer articles addressed societal or ethical aspects of neuroimaging research. Furthermore, neuroimaging metaphors seem to favour oversimplification. Current reporting is therefore more likely to enable hype than to mitigate it. How can neuroscientists, given their self-ascribed social responsibility, address this conundrum? We make a case for a collective and shared responsibility among neuroscientists, journalists and other stakeholders, including funders, committed to responsible reporting on neuroimaging research.

Cross-country discrepancies on public understanding of stress concepts: evidence for stress-management psychoeducational programs

BACKGROUND

Negative effects of stress have pose one of the major threats to the health and economic well being of individuals independently of age and cultural background. Nevertheless, the term "stress" has been globally used unlinked from scientificevidence-based meaning. The discrepancies between scientific and public stress knowledge are focus of concern and little is know about it. This is relevant since misconceptions about stress may influence the effects of stress-management psychoeducational programs and the development of best practices for interventions. The study aimed to analyze stress knowledge among the Canadian and Brazilian general public and to determine the extent to which scientific and popular views of stress differ between those countries.

METHODS

We evaluated 1156 healthy participants between 18 and 88 years of age recruited from Canada (n = 502) and Brazil (n = 654). To assess stress knowledge, a questionnaire composed of questions regarding stress concepts ("stress is bad" versus "stress-free life is good") and factors capable of triggering the stress response ("novelty, unpredictability, low sense of control and social evaluative threat versus "time pressure,work overload, conflict, unbalance and children") was used.

RESULTS

Both Canadian and Brazilian participants showed misconceptions about stress and the factors capable of triggering a stress response. However, the rate of misconceptions was higher in Brazil than in Canada (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest a lack of public understanding of stress science and its variance according to a country's society. Psychoeducational programs and vulnerability of stress-related disorder are discussed.

The Movement of Research from the Laboratory to the Living Room: a Case Study of Public Engagement with Cognitive Science

Media reporting of science has consequences for public debates on the ethics of research. Accordingly, it is crucial to understand how the sciences of the brain and the mind are covered in the media, and how coverage is received and negotiated. The authors report here their sociological findings from a case study of media coverage and associated reader comments of an article ('Does bilingualism influence cognitive aging?') from Annals of Neurology. The media attention attracted by the article was high for cognitive science; further, as associates/members of the Centre where it was produced, the authors of the research reported here had rare insight into how the scientists responsible for the Annals of Neurology article interacted with the media. The data corpus included 37 news items and 228 readers' comments, examined via qualitative thematic analysis. Media coverage of the article was largely accurate, without merely copying the press release. Analysis of reader comments showed these to be an important resource for considering issues of import to neuroethics scholars, as well as to scientists themselves (including how science communication shapes and is shaped by ethical, epistemic, and popular discourse). In particular, the findings demonstrate how personal experiences were vital in shaping readers' accounts of their (dis)agreements with the scientific article. Furthermore, the data show how scientific research can catalyse political discussions in ways likely unanticipated by scientists. The analysis indicates the importance of dialogue between journalists, laboratory scientists and social scientists in order to support the communication of the messages researchers intend.

"Social" Neuroscience: Leveraging Social Media to Increase Student Engagement and Public Understanding of Neuroscience

Neuroscience is young and still developing. It is quickly adapting to a number of emerging changes in science and education. Not only have neuroscientists been at the forefront of the open access publishing movement, but many prominent neuroscientists continue to push towards making science more accessible and understandable to the broader public. Social media is a global phenomenon that is changing the way that we talk about research and education. Researchers, students, and the public alike can leverage social media to find updates in research and higher education. Social media also provides pathways to connect with experts and non-experts in a way never been seen before. Two major trends are appearing in education and social media: 1) providing more engaging teaching activities, and 2) providing opportunities for community engagement using teaching activities that leverage social media. In this article, we describe a semester long teaching activity that challenged students to use social media in their learning process. We provide initial evaluation and feedback from the students on their social media experience in class, and suggestions for how to improve the project in future implementations.

"It Was Like I Had Found My Tribe": Influence of a Neuroscience Outreach Program on High Achievers

Engaging young people with science is essential to ensuring a scientifically literate society. Furthermore, it is important to enable access to a variety of sciences during adolescence, when individuals are making decisions about their future educational and career paths. The Brain Bee Challenge (BBC) is a quiz-based international neuroscience outreach program for high school students. We wished to determine what influence exposure to the scientific research environment had on the highest achievers' later choices in education, their career expectations, and their perspectives toward science. Semistructured interviews were carried out with seven of the past winners of the New Zealand National BBC finals. Analysis involved thematic coding to investigate the impact of BBC involvement and potential longer term consequences. Second-order coding found critical themes identified by participants. These themes highlight the value of research institution-led outreach activities that extend high achievers beyond the school curriculum. In addition to subject-specific influences, there were multiple benefits acknowledged at a personal or individual level, including socialization and identity development, further demonstrating the importance of such engagement activities.

The media and behavioral genetics: Alternatives coexisting with addiction genetics

To understand public discourse in the U.S. on genetic causation of behavioral disorders, we analyzed media representations of genetic research on addiction published between 1990 and 2010. We conclude first that the media simplistically represent biological bases of addiction and willpower as being mutually exclusive: behaviors are either genetically determined, or they are a choice. Second, most articles provide only cursory or no treatment of the environmental contribution. A media focus on genetics directs attention away from environmental factors. Rhetorically, media neglect the complexity underlying of the etiology of addiction and direct focus back toward individual causation and responsibility.

A room with a view of integrity and professionalism: personal reflections on teaching responsible conduct of research in the neurosciences

Neuroscientists are increasingly put into situations which demand critical reflection about the ethical and appropriate use of research tools and scientific knowledge. Students or trainees also have to know how to navigate the ethical domains of this context. At a time when neuroscience is expected to advance policy and practice outcomes, in the face of academic pressures and complex environments, the importance of scientific integrity comes into focus and with it the need for training at the graduate level in the responsible conduct of research (RCR). I describe my experience teaching RCR in a graduate neuroscience program and identify three personal reflections where further dialogue could be warranted: (1) mobilizing a common set of competencies and virtues standing for professionalism in the neurosciences; (2) tailoring RCR for the neurosciences and empowering students through the active engagement of mentors; (3) soliciting shared responsibility for RCR training between disciplines, institutions and governmental or funding agencies.

Unwarranted optimism in media portrayals of genetic research on addiction overshadows critical ethical and social concerns

The cost of addiction in the United States, in combination with a host of new tools and techniques, has fueled an explosion of genetic research on addiction. Because the media has the capacity to reflect and influence public perception, there is a need to examine how treatments and preventive approaches projected to emerge from addiction genetic research are presented to the public. The authors conducted a textual analysis of 145 news articles reporting on genetic research on addiction from popular print media in the United States and from popular news and medical internet sites. In articles that report on prevention, the media emphasize vaccine development and identifying individuals at genetic risk through population screening. Articles that emphasize treatment often promote current pharmaceutical solutions and highlight the possibility of tailoring treatments to specific genetic variants. The authors raise concerns about the tendency of this coverage to focus on the benefits of pharmaceutical treatments and genetic-based approaches to prevention while neglecting or downplaying potential risks and ethical issues. This analysis suggests a need for more balanced, evidence-based media reporting on the potential outcomes of genetic research.

Active learning in a neuroethics course positively impacts moral judgment development in undergraduates

The growing neuroscientific understanding of the biological basis of behaviors has profound social and ethical implications. To address the need for public awareness of the consequences of these advances, we developed an undergraduate neuroethics course, Neuroscience and Society, at the University of Minnesota. Course evolution, objectives, content, and impact are described here. To engage all students and facilitate undergraduate ethics education, this course employed daily reading, writing, and student discussion, case analysis, and team presentations with goals of fostering development of moral reasoning and judgment and introducing application of bioethical frameworks to topics raised by neuroscience. Pre- and post-course Defining Issues Test (DIT) scores and student end-of-course reflections demonstrated that course objectives for student application of bioethical frameworks to neuroethical issues were met. The active-learning, student-centered pedagogical approaches used to achieve these goals serve as a model for how to effectively teach neuroethics at the undergraduate level.

Brain literate: making neuroscience accessible to a wider audience of undergraduates

The ability to critically evaluate neuroscientific findings is a skill that is rapidly becoming important in non-science professions. As neuroscience research is increasingly being used in law, business, education, and politics, it becomes imperative to educate future leaders in all areas of society about the brain. Undergraduate general education courses are an ideal way to expose students to issues of critical importance, but non-science students may avoid taking a neuroscience course because of the perception that neuroscience is more challenging than other science courses. A recently developed general education cluster course at UCLA aims to make neuroscience more palatable to undergraduates by pairing neuroscientific concepts with philosophy and history, and by building a learning community that supports the development of core academic skills and intellectual growth over the course of a year. This study examined the extent to which the course was successful in delivering neuroscience education to a broader undergraduate community. The results indicate that a majority of students in the course mastered the basics of the discipline regardless of their major. Furthermore, 77% of the non-life science majors (approximately two-thirds of students in the course) indicated that they would not have taken an undergraduate neuroscience course if this one was not offered. The findings also demonstrate that the course helped students develop core academic skills and improved their ability to think critically about current events in neuroscience. Faculty reported that teaching the course was highly rewarding and did not require an inordinate amount of time.

Community engagement and knowledge translation: progress and challenge in autism research

The last decade has seen significant growth in scientific understanding and public awareness of autism. There is still a long road ahead before this awareness can be matched with parallel improvements in evidence-based practice. The process of translating evidence into community care has been hampered by the seeming disconnect between the mainstream scientific research agenda and the immediate priorities of many communities. The need for community engagement in the process of translating knowledge into impact has been recognized. However, there remains little consensus or empirical data regarding the process of such engagement and how to measure its impact. We shed light on a number of engagement models and tools, previously advocated in health research, as they apply to autism research. Furthermore, we illustrate the utility of such tools in supporting identification of knowledge gaps and priorities, using two community-based case studies. The case studies illustrate that information generated from research is indeed relevant and critical for knowledge users in the community. Simple and systematic methods can support the translation and uptake of knowledge in diverse communities, therefore enhancing engagement with research and bridging research findings with immediate community needs.

Media reporting of neuroscience depends on timing, topic and newspaper type

The rapid developments in neuroscientific techniques raise high expectations among the general public and therefore warrant close monitoring of the translation to the media and daily-life applications. The need of empirical research into neuroscience communication is emphasized by its susceptibility to evoke misconceptions and polarized beliefs. As the mass media are the main sources of information about (neuro-)science for a majority of the general public, the objective of the current research is to quantify how critically and accurately newspapers report on neuroscience as a function of the timing of publication (within or outside of periods of heightened media attention to neuroscience, termed "news waves"), the topic of the research (e.g. development, health, law) and the newspaper type (quality, popular, free newspapers). The results show that articles published during neuroscience news waves were less neutral and more optimistic, but not different in accuracy. Furthermore, the overall tone and accuracy of articles depended on the topic; for example, articles on development often had an optimistic tone whereas articles on law were often skeptical or balanced, and articles on health care had highest accuracy. Average accuracy was rather low, but articles in quality newspapers were relatively more accurate than in popular and free newspapers. Our results provide specific recommendations for researchers and science communicators, to improve the translation of neuroscience findings through the media: 1) Caution is warranted during periods of heightened attention (news waves), as reporting tends to be more optimistic; 2) Caution is also warranted not to follow topic-related biases in optimism (e.g., development) or skepticism (e.g., law); 3) Researchers should keep in mind that overall accuracy of reporting is low, and especially articles in popular and free newspapers provide a minimal amount of details. This indicates that researchers themselves may need to be more active in preventing misconceptions to arise.

Brain images, babies, and bathwater: critiquing critiques of functional neuroimaging

Since the mid-1980s, psychologists and neuroscientists have used brain imaging to test hypotheses about human thought processes and their neural instantiation. In just three decades, functional neuroimaging has been transformed from a crude clinical tool to a widely used research method for understanding the human brain and mind. Such rapidly achieved success is bound to evoke skepticism. A degree of skepticism toward new methods and ideas is both inevitable and useful in any field. It is especially valuable in a science as young as cognitive neuroscience and its even younger siblings, social and affective neuroscience. Healthy skepticism encourages us to check our assumptions, recognize the limitations of our methods, and proceed thoughtfully. Skepticism itself, however, also must be examined. In this article, I review the most commonly voiced criticisms of functional neuroimaging. In the spirit of healthy skepticism, I will critically examine these criticisms themselves. Each contains at least a kernel of truth, although I will argue that in some cases the kernel has been over extended in ways that are inaccurate or misleading.