About this Research Topic
Recent events, including the COVID-19 pandemic and a national focus on racial injustice, have amplified the calls that have been made over the years for more inclusive neuroscience research. Our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying human cognition and emotion, as well as community-salient determinants of brain health and disease, is limited by the lack of diversity in samples in cognitive and affective neuroscience studies. These field-level gaps perpetuate health disparities rather than reducing them. There is a critical need to address systematic inequalities in neuroscience research by conducting studies that address current issues related to various aspects of diversity, including race/ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, language, physical ability, and geographical area.
The goal of this research topic is to facilitate the sharing of late-breaking cognitive and affective neuroscience studies that address timely topics and contribute to inclusivity in neuroscience research. There have been numerous calls for representative brain science, which requires inclusive study design. With this research topic, we aim to highlight the work in this space that contribute to our understanding of a more representative brain. Specifically, we will highlight work that is representative of multiple facets of diversity (e.g., ethnoracial, sexual orientation and gender identity, socioeconomic status/class, ability status) across the lifespan.
We are interested in original research, review articles, and meta-analyses that focus on neuroscience methods, broadly defined (e.g., neuroimaging, electrical stimulation, electrophysiology), in human samples that exclusively or primarily comprise underrepresented diverse populations. We are particularly interested in manuscripts that address current topics in the forefront of public and scientific discourse, including, but not limited to:
• Individual and social issues of race and social justice, sexual orientation and gender identity, socioeconomic status, or ability status
• Intersectionality
• Recruitment and retention of diverse samples
• Identification of risk and protective factors that shape brain health in underrepresented populations
• Methodological issues in diversity research
The goal of this research topic is to facilitate the sharing of late-breaking cognitive and affective neuroscience studies that address timely topics and contribute to inclusivity in neuroscience research. There have been numerous calls for representative brain science, which requires inclusive study design. With this research topic, we aim to highlight the work in this space that contribute to our understanding of a more representative brain. Specifically, we will highlight work that is representative of multiple facets of diversity (e.g., ethnoracial, sexual orientation and gender identity, socioeconomic status/class, ability status) across the lifespan.
We are interested in original research, review articles, and meta-analyses that focus on neuroscience methods, broadly defined (e.g., neuroimaging, electrical stimulation, electrophysiology), in human samples that exclusively or primarily comprise underrepresented diverse populations. We are particularly interested in manuscripts that address current topics in the forefront of public and scientific discourse, including, but not limited to:
• Individual and social issues of race and social justice, sexual orientation and gender identity, socioeconomic status, or ability status
• Intersectionality
• Recruitment and retention of diverse samples
• Identification of risk and protective factors that shape brain health in underrepresented populations
• Methodological issues in diversity research
Keywords: health disparities, social justice, intersectionality, inclusive research, brain
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
