The Brain Equity Gap

Why the Brain Sciences Must Serve All of Humanity
Erscheinungsjahr 2027
ISBN: 978-3-032-44734-0
Verlag: Springer

Buch, Englisch, Format (B × H): 178 mm x 254 mm

Reihe: Sustainable Development Goals Series

This book confronts a fundamental crisis in neuroscience research: the assumption that findings from demographically homogeneous populations represent universal truths about the human brain. Rather than treating demographic exclusion as a mere “generalizability limitation,” it reframes it as a scientific validity threat—showing that homogeneous samples can produce systematically biased findings that may be invalid even for the populations studied.

The book introduces two interconnected frameworks—population diversity (demographic representation in research) and brain diversity (neurobiological variation across populations). Drawing on PET neuroimaging evidence, it demonstrates that identical symptom severity scores may correspond to markedly different brain metabolic patterns across conditions and populations. Moving beyond theoretical debate, it shows why standardized protocols often fail in diverse populations.

Organized into four interconnected parts, the book examines: (1) population and brain diversity in global research, (2) how biased research produces biased AI systems, (3) the erosion of trust across cultures, and (4) practical solutions emerging from six continents. Unlike works that apply Western frameworks globally, it foregrounds authentic international perspectives and explores how exclusion manifests differently across healthcare systems, regulatory settings, and cultural contexts.

Written for neuroscience researchers, clinicians, AI developers, graduate students, policymakers, and ethics review boards, the book addresses readers across all regions, not only Western contexts. Current literature often frames demographic diversity as an ethical obligation or a problem of generalizability. This book argues instead that diversity is a requirement for scientific validity. It traces the full pathway by which methodological exclusion generates biased findings, trains biased AI systems, and ultimately erodes public trust—creating a global crisis that demands region-specific solutions.

Combining conceptual frameworks with practical tools, the book offers a roadmap for transforming neuroscience from an exclusionary to an inclusive discipline, grounded in empirical evidence that diverse science is better science.

Zielgruppe

Professional/practitioner

Autoren/Hrsg.

Rudroff, Thorsten

Fachgebiete

• Mathematik | Informatik EDV | Informatik Informatik Künstliche Intelligenz
• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Psychotherapie / Klinische Psychologie
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften Bioethik, Tierethik
• Medizin | Veterinärmedizin Medizin | Public Health | Pharmazie | Zahnmedizin Klinische und Innere Medizin Neurologie, Klinische Neurowissenschaft
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften Interdisziplinär Neurowissenschaften, Kognitionswissenschaft

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Introduction: The Hidden Cost of Homogeneous Science.- Part I: Population Diversity and Brain Diversity in Global Research .- 2. The WEIRD Brain Myth and the Population Sampling Crisis.- 3. Brain Diversity Across Populations: Not Variation, But Different Patterns.- 4. The 50% Problem: When Half Your Subjects Are Non-Responders.- 5. Medical Consequences Across Healthcare Systems.- 6. Who Gets to Ask the Questions? Global Research Pipelines.- Part II: How Biased Research Creates Biased AI, Globally .- 7. The AI Inheritance Problem: Training on Biased Data.- 8. When AI Gets It Wrong: Documented Cases of Diagnostic Failure.- 9. Digital Colonialism and the Global Distribution of AI Harm.- Part III: Trust, History, and the Social Consequences of Scientific Exclusion .- 10. A History of Harm: Research Abuses and the Roots of Distrust.- 11. Invisible Patients: The Lived Experience of Scientific Exclusion.- 12. The Misinformation Vulnerability: How Exclusion Fuels Distrust and Doubt.- 13. AI-Enabled Misinformation and the Fracturing of Health Authority.- Part IV: Global Solutions: Achieving Brain Equity by 2030 .- 14. Methodological Reforms for Inclusive Neuroscience.- 15. Building Equitable AI for Global Health.- 16. Rebuilding Trust Through Inclusive Science.- 17. Brain Equity by 2030: An Implementation Roadmap.- 18. Conclusion: The Four Patients Revisited.

Über Autor(innen)

Dr. Thorsten Rudroff is a Professor (Docent) of Experimental Neuroimaging at the University of Turku's Department of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine and Turku PET Centre in Finland. With over 22 years of international research experience spanning three continents, he brings a uniquely global perspective to neuroscience methodology and population diversity challenges.

Dr. Rudroff's research expertise encompasses PET neuroimaging, transcranial direct current stimulation, electromyography, and artificial intelligence applications in neuroscience. His work has demonstrated that identical symptom severity scores correspond to different brain metabolic patterns across patient populations—empirical evidence central to the brain diversity framework presented in this book. His research on the 50% non-responder problem in transcranial direct current stimulation has revealed how standardized protocols systematically fail when applied across diverse populations.

He has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications and serves on multiple editorial boards. His previous Springer textbooks include "Long-COVID Fatigue: Clinical Sciences, Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Brain Health" and "The Healthy Brain and Neurological Disorders: Neuroscience in the Anti-Science Era.”

Dr. Rudroff has secured over $2 million in research funding and maintains active collaborations across Europe, Asia, and North America. His international research network spans multiple continents, enabling him to gather authentic regional case studies and perspectives that will inform the global scope of this book.

His international research experience demonstrated commitment to methodological rigor and established track record of translating complex neuroscience concepts for academic audiences position him uniquely to address the global challenges of population diversity and brain diversity in neuroscience research.