Sullivan, Jacqueline (2017) Optogenetics, Pluralism and Progress. [Preprint]

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Abstract

Optogenetic techniques are described as “revolutionary” for the unprecedented causal control they allow neuroscientists to exert over neural activity in awake behaving animals. In this paper, I demonstrate by means of a case study that optogenetic techniques will only illuminate causal links between the brain and behavior to the extent that their error characteristics are known and, further, that determining these error characteristics requires (1) comparison of optogenetic techniques with techniques having well known error characteristics (methodological pluralism) and (2) consideration of the broader neural and behavioral context in which the targets of optogenetic interventions are situated (perspectival pluralism).

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Sullivan, Jacqueline jsulli29@uwo.ca 0000-0003-3042-4632
Keywords:	causation, experiment, optogenetics, pluralism, progress, reliability, severity
Subjects:	General Issues > Causation General Issues > Experimentation Specific Sciences > Neuroscience
Depositing User:	Jacqueline Sullivan
Date Deposited:	08 Nov 2017 14:50
Last Modified:	08 Nov 2017 14:50
Item ID:	14098
Subjects:	General Issues > Causation General Issues > Experimentation Specific Sciences > Neuroscience
Date:	1 November 2017
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/14098

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