Resolving Ambiguities of MVPA Using Explicit Models of Representation

Abstract

We advocate a shift in emphasis within cognitive neuroscience from multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) to the design and testing of explicit models of neural representation. With such models, it becomes possible to identify the specific representations encoded in patterns of brain activity and to map them across the brain.

Keywords: computational modeling; encoding model; fMRI; multivariate pattern analysis; representation.