I think they are talking about cognitive neuroscience and not neuroscience in general. Many in the neuro community consider fMRI studies to be the equivalent o

I think they are talking about cognitive neuroscience and not neuroscience in general. Many in the neuro community consider fMRI studies to be the equivalent of phrenology. But looking at the top journals in the field (neuron and nature neuro) you rarely find fMRI studies. The bulk of the work is basic science that attempts to figure out how the brain works. Basic neuroscience has its problems too [1] but it is not full of overstatements. Unfortunately, what gets in the news is mostly catchy subjects that relate to psychology. 1] http://www.nature.com/nrn/journal/v14/n5/abs/nrn3475.html http://www.nature.com/nrn/journal/v14/n5/abs/nrn3475.html