Empirical neuroenchantment: from reading minds to thinking critically

Abstract

While most experts agree on the limitations of neuroimaging, the unversed public—and indeed many a scholar—often valorizes brain imaging without heeding its shortcomings. Here we test the boundaries of this phenomenon, which we term neuroenchantment. How much are individuals ready to believe when encountering improbable information through the guise of neuroscience? We introduced participants to a crudely-built mock brain scanner, explaining that the machine would measure neural activity, analyze the data, and then infer the content of complex thoughts. Using a classic magic trick, we crafted an illusion whereby the imaging technology seemed to decipher the internal thoughts of participants. We found that most students—even undergraduates with advanced standing in neuroscience and psychology, who have been taught the shortcomings of neuroimaging—deemed such unlikely technology highly plausible. Our findings highlight the influence neuro-hype wields over critical thinking.

The self-regulating brain and neurofeedback: Experimental science and clinical promise

“…In addition, many neurofeedback experiments employ either no control group or a control condition that substantively differs from the target intervention (e.g., in terms of length, intensity, and mode of training). And yet, EEG-nf may harbor a sizeable placebo component because it costs money, requires dozens of sessions, involves medical-like instrumentation, and carries the allure of brain science (Ali, Lifshitz, & Raz, 2014). Add to that an emphasis on cognitive demands that often aims to improve psychological rather than physiological conditions (Benedetti et al, 2003;Moseley et al, 2002;Waber, Shiv, Carmon, & Ariely, 2008) and the multi-faceted nature of neurofeedback becomes evident: whereas EEG-nf alters both brain patterns and behavioral measures, current findings hardly support a direct link between the specific feedback and these observed alterations.…”

“…Interfacing with Technology: Individuals overestimate the capacity of seemingly cutting-edge technology (Ali et al, 2014), potentially increasing motivation and the expectation to improve.…”

Neurofeedback or neuroplacebo?

“…Moreover, this form of neuroenchantment likely holds special sway over critical reasoning and can lead people to accept explanations they would normally dismiss (Ali et al, 2014). In this regard, neurofeedback may represent an especially powerful form of placebo intervention-a kind of superplacebo.…”

Towards Tunable Consensus Clustering for Studying Functional Brain Connectivity During Affective Processing

“…Papers making the headlines announced significant brain activity in dead salmon or evidenced magical high correlations between behavioral and brain data. 2 Although the fascination of brain data can still blur critical thinking in front of a crudelybuilt mock brain scanner, 3 scientists are questioning the reliability of neuroimaging and the danger of false positives and reverse inference, hence compromising the relevance of a whole field for the general scientific community. 4 A recent main criticism relies on the wide variety of analysis strategies, combined with small sample sizes, used to investigate regional brain activity measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and leading to inconsistent findings.…”