Department of Logic and Philosophy of Science, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Nat Rev Neurosci. 2024 Feb;25(2):81-90. doi: 10.1038/s41583-023-00778-7. Epub 2024 Jan 11.
A fundamental goal of research in neuroscience is to uncover the causal structure of the brain. This focus on causation makes sense, because causal information can provide explanations of brain function and identify reliable targets with which to understand cognitive function and prevent or change neurological conditions and psychiatric disorders. In this research, one of the most frequently used causal concepts is 'mechanism' - this is seen in the literature and language of the field, in grant and funding inquiries that specify what research is supported, and in journal guidelines on which contributions are considered for publication. In these contexts, mechanisms are commonly tied to expressions of the main aims of the field and cited as the 'fundamental', 'foundational' and/or 'basic' unit for understanding the brain. Despite its common usage and perceived importance, mechanism is used in different ways that are rarely distinguished. Given that this concept is defined in different ways throughout the field - and that there is often no clarification of which definition is intended - there remains a marked ambiguity about the fundamental goals, orientation and principles of the field. Here we provide an overview of causation and mechanism from the perspectives of neuroscience and philosophy of science, in order to address these challenges.
神经科学研究的一个基本目标是揭示大脑的因果结构。这种对因果关系的关注是有意义的，因为因果信息可以提供对大脑功能的解释，并确定可靠的靶点，以理解认知功能，预防或改变神经状况和精神障碍。在这项研究中，最常使用的因果概念之一是“机制”-这在该领域的文献和语言中，在规定支持哪些研究的资助和资金查询中，以及在期刊指南中都可以看到，这些指南规定了哪些贡献可以考虑发表。在这些上下文中，机制通常与该领域的主要目标联系在一起，并被视为理解大脑的“基本”、“基础”和/或“基本”单元。尽管机制被广泛使用并被认为很重要，但它的用法却很少被区分。鉴于该概念在整个领域中的定义方式不同-而且通常没有说明意图的定义是哪一个-该领域的基本目标、方向和原则仍然存在明显的模糊性。在这里，我们从神经科学和科学哲学的角度概述了因果关系和机制，以解决这些挑战。
