Introduction to ‘Tools of the Trade’

Abstract

The pace of methods development for cognitive neuroscience is absolutely blinding, and shows no hints of slowing down. Every month, methods-oriented journals print many papers outlining methods that, were they widely disseminated and implemented, could help cognitive neuroscientists optimize their experimental designs, data acquisition and analysis schemes. Unfortunately, few researchers in the social, cognitive and affective neurosciences have the time and/or technical expertise to read these papers and understand how the methods could potentially impact their research. The editorial board of SCAN realizes the importance of keeping on top of methodological developments, and has established the Tools of the Trade section as an outlet for brief reviews of new methodological developments in the field of cognitive neuroscience. Edited by Russell Poldrack and Tor Wager, the goal of the Tools of the Trade section will be to publish short reviews (generally 2–5 journal pages) that outline state of the art methods in terms accessible to a broad audience. These reviews will focus on areas of active growth and emphasize the practical essentials of the technique, accompanied where possible by downloadable software that makes the technique available to the cognitive neuroscience community. Upcoming topics and authors include: Peter Bandettini: Parallel imaging Christian Beckmann: Exploratory data analysis techniques Bruce Fischl: Surface-based normalization James Haxby: Multi-voxel pattern analysis Tom Liu: Experimental design Torben Lund: Modeling physiological nuisance parameters Thomas Nichols: Multiple comparison procedures and thresholding Russell Poldrack: Reverse inference Tor Wager: Robust group analysis We encourage suggestions from readers regarding methodological topics of interest. We also encourage researchers from the methodological arena to submit other ideas for reviews to the editors. We hope that this section of the journal will become a well-known and highly regarded outlet for brief reviews of methodological topics.