Abstract
Traditionally, discussion about neuroimaging focuses on methodological improvement and neurobiological findings. In current psychiatric neuroimaging, the research focus broadens and includes concepts such as the self, personality, well-being, and psychiatric disease. This calls for the inclusion of disciplines like psychology and philosophy in a dialogue with neuroscience. Furthermore, it raises the question of how theories from these areas relate to neuroimaging findings: are results generated by objective data independent of theories? Is there an epistemological priority for the theories used for generating hypotheses and for interpreting the results? Or do theoretical concepts and neuroimaging data influence each other? In this paper, we will discuss these positions concerning the priority of concepts and data in neuroimaging and provide arguments for an interdependence of concepts and data. An awareness of these considerations may help professionals from the life sciences and humanities as well as laypersons to avoid misunderstandings and oversimplifications.
Zusammenfassung
Da breit angelegte und oft unscharf definierte theoretische Konzepte wie „Persönlichkeit”, „Selbst”, „subjektives Wohlergehen” und auch der psychiatrische Krankheitsbegriff im Zentrum der Fragestellungen psychiatrischer Forschung stehen, muss sich auch die bildgebende Forschung in der Psychiatrie obligat mit ihnen befassen. Während die Diskussion in den Neurowissenschaften traditionell hauptsächlich auf methodische und neurobiologische Aspekte fokussiert ist, werden daher für die Interpretation von Ergebnissen aus der aktuellen bildgebenden Forschung auch psychologische und philosophische Theorien benötigt. Dies wirft Fragen über die epistemiologische Bedeutung der Bildgebungsbefunde und der bei der Interpretation zu Grunde gelegten Theorien auf: Erzeugen die Methoden objektive Ergebnisse, die unabhängig von den eingesetzten Theorien sind? Existiert eine epistemiologische Priorität der Theorien, die für Hypothesenbildung und Dateninterpretation angewandt werden? Beeinflussen sich Theorien und Daten gegenseitig? In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden wir die genannten Positionen diskutieren und Argumente für eine gegenseitige Abhängigkeit zwischen Bildgebungsdaten und theoretischen Konzepten liefern. Ein Zugang zu den Neurowissenschaften, der bezüglich dieses Zusammenhanges sensibilisiert ist, könnte Wissenschaftlern in den Lebens- und Geisteswissenschaften, aber auch Laien helfen, Fehlinterpretationen und zu starke Vereinfachungen zu vermeiden.
Résumé
Les spécialistes de l’imagerie cérébrale s’intéressent, traditionnellement, aux avancées méthodologiques et aux découvertes en neurobiologie. En psychiatrie moderne, la recherche en neuro-imagerie inclut des concepts tels que la personnalité, le soi, le bien-être et la maladie mentale. Il est donc nécessaire d’établir un dialogue interdisciplinaire associant des spécialités telles que la psychologie et la philosophie avec les neurosciences. De plus, certaines questions sur la relation entre ces théories et les découvertes en neuro-imagerie émergent: Les résultats obtenus scientifiquement sont-ils bien objectifs et indépendant des théories? Y a t’il une priorité épistémologique des théories influençant la conception d’hypothèses et l’interprétation des résultats? Les concepts théoriques et les données en imagerie cérébrales s’influencent-elles mutuellement? La présente étude évalue divers points de vue sur la priorité entre les concepts théoriques et les données en neuro-imagerie et apporte des arguments en faveur de l’idée d’une interdépendance entre les deux. Une prise de conscience de ces considérations peut aider les professionnels des sciences humaines, mais aussi les néophytes, à éviter des malentendus et des simplifications outrancières.
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Acknowledgments
An earlier version of this work was presented at the interdisciplinary summer school, “The Impact of Current Developments in the Neurosciences on the Concept of Psychiatric Disease”, that was held in Bonn, Germany, from 2nd to 9th October 2007. The author wishes to express his thanks to Dr. med. Felix Thiele, M.Sc. (Europäische Akademie zur Erforschung von Folgen wissenschaftlich-technischer Entwicklungen GmbH, Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Germany) and Dr. med. Barbara Hawellek (Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, Bonn) for organizing this excellent summer school, to his fellow participants for the fruitful discussions and to the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) for its financial support.
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Huber, C.G. Interdependence of theoretical concepts and neuroimaging data. Poiesis Prax 6, 203–217 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10202-009-0069-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10202-009-0069-3