Inter-Level Strategies:

Neuroscientists ultimately aim to uncover and de-stratify the mechanisms of brain processes. Inter-level experiments allow researchers to target particular levels and gain insight into its association with other components and the process at hand. Craver (2002) explicated three inter-level experimental strategies used in modern neuroscience: activation, interference, and additive strategies.

An experiment that employs an activation strategy provokes a higher level process (i.e. coherent speech) to study lower level components (i.e. activated neuroanatomy). Such a intervention scheme from high to low level inquiry is termed a "top-down experiment". A functional PET (positron emission tomography) scan experiment can be categorized as an activation strategy study, for the subjects are asked to perform a task (higher-order) and the PET detectors measure the locale and intensity of glucose utilization (components).

Experiments that rely on interference strategies are "bottom-up" experiments, in that components are disturbed to investigate a higher level role. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) experiments are based on the interference strategy for it is used to suppress the expression of specific proteins study its interfering effects in vivo and in vitro (see Scanlon, 2004 for a review). For example, Chuang et al. (2004) demonstrated that RNA-mediated interruption of synaptojanin 2 (a phosphoinositide phosphotase) inhibited metastasis of certain glioblastoma cells lines.

Where interference strategies obstruct components, additive strategies arouse or augment some components in a mechanism. Conceiving, the researchers studying the association between synaptojanin and brain cancer could have stimulated the protein production by way of targeted virus and studies its effects on cancer cell migration. This would constitute an additive strategy, for the (protein) component was augmented to investigate a higher role (metastasis).

References

Chuang, Y. Y., Tran, N. L., Rusk, N., Nakada, M., Berens, M. E., & Symons, M. (2004, November 15). Role of synaptojanin 2 in glioma cell migration and invasion. Cancer Research, 64(22), 8271 5. Retrieved from PubMed database (15548694).

Craver, C. F. (2002, September). Interlevel experiments and multilevel mechanisms in the neuroscience of memory. Philosophy of Science, 69(3), S83 S97. Retrieved from ProQuest database (222231461).

Scanlon, K. J. (2004, October). Anti genes: siRNA, ribozymes and antisense. Curr Pharm Biotechnol, 5(5), 415 20. Retrieved from PubMed database (15544489).

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