Emotion science in the Twenty-First Century. Time, sex, and behavior in emotion science: Over and above

Abstract

With the advent of sophisticated tools and techniques over the past three decades, brain imaging has energized the rapidly developing field of Social Neuroscience, and has sparked a wide range of research in Emotion Science. Since its launch in 2010, Frontiers in Emotion Science has published more than 400 articles, many of them utilizing brain imaging tools. However, the question arises: Are we on the way to real progress? It is reasonable, and healthy, to reflect on how brain imaging has helped to elucidate our understanding of socio-emotional functioning, and how its contributions can be enriched and improved in the future. As a neuroscientist who has conducted many brain imaging studies, I wrestle with several doubts and concerns. In this piece of work, I will discuss the critical importance of behavior, time, and sex/gender not only for Emotion Science, but also "over and above" this specific area of investigation. I will focus on the ways in which these key constructs represent a grand (and very exciting) challenge for neuroscience. I elaborate on three of these here.