Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) enables non-invasive access to the awake, behaving human brain. By tracking whole-brain signals across a diverse range of cognitive and behavioural states or mapping differences associated with specific traits or clinical conditions, fMRI has advanced our understanding of brain function and its links to both normal and atypical behaviour. Despite this headway, progress in human cognitive neuroscience that uses fMRI has been relatively isolated from rapid advances in other subdomains of neuroscience, which themselves are also somewhat siloed from one another. In this Perspective, we argue that fMRI is well-placed to integrate the diverse subfields of systems, cognitive, computational and clinical neuroscience. We first summarize the strengths and weaknesses of fMRI as an imaging tool, then highlight examples of studies that have successfully used fMRI in each subdomain of neuroscience. We then provide a roadmap for the future advances that wi
Fossil endocasts record features of brains from the past: size, shape, vasculature, and gyrification. These data, alongside experimental and comparative evidence, are needed to resolve questions about brain energetics, cognitive specializations, and developmental plasticity. Through the application of interdisciplinary techniques to the fossil record, paleoneurology has been leading major innovations. Neuroimaging is shedding light on fossil brain organization and behaviors. Inferences about the development and physiology of the brains of extinct species can be experimentally investigated through brain organoids and transgenic models based on ancient DNA. Phylogenetic comparative methods integrate data across species and associate genotypes to phenotypes, and brains to behaviors. Meanwhile, fossil and archeological discoveries continuously contribute new knowledge. Through cooperation, the scientific community can accelerate knowledge acquisition. Sharing digitized museum collections i
Creativity is an essential cognitive ability linked to all areas of our everyday functioning. Thus, finding a way to enhance it is of broad interest. A large number of anecdotal reports suggest that the consumption of psychedelic drugs can enhance creative thinking; however, scientific evidence is lacking. Following a double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group design, we demonstrated that psilocybin (0.17 mg/kg) induced a time- and construct-related differentiation of effects on creative thinking. Acutely, psilocybin increased ratings of (spontaneous) creative insights, while decreasing (deliberate) task-based creativity. Seven days after psilocybin, number of novel ideas increased. Furthermore, we utilized an ultrahigh field multimodal brain imaging approach, and found that acute and persisting effects were predicted by within- and between-network connectivity of the default mode network. Findings add some support to historical claims that psychedelics can influence aspect
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