Naturalistic stimuli: A paradigm for multiscale functional characterization of the human brain

Movies, audio stories, and virtual reality are increasingly used as stimuli for functional brain imaging. Such naturalistic paradigms are in sharp contrast to the tradition of experimental reductionism in neuroscience research. Being complex, dynamic, and diverse, naturalistic stimuli set up a more ecologically relevant condition and induce highly reproducible brain responses across a wide range of spatiotemporal scales. Here, we review recent technical advances and scientific findings on imaging the brain under naturalistic stimuli. Then, we elaborate on the premise of using naturalistic paradigms for multiscale, multimodal, and high-throughput functional characterization of the human brain. We further highlight the growing potential of using deep learning models to infer neural information processing from brain responses to naturalistic stimuli. Finally, we advocate large-scale collaborations to combine brain imaging and recording data across experiments, subjects, and labs that use the same set of naturalistic stimuli.

Automated summary

Movies, audio stories, and virtual reality are increasingly used as stimuli for functional brain imaging, setting up more ecologically relevant conditions and inducing highly reproducible brain responses as compared to traditional experimental reductionism.