Questions about Race as a Research Variable

Deliberating about race as a variable in biomedical research.

Race as a variable in research ethics is investigated: to what extent is it morally appropriate to regard the race of research subjects as pivotal for research outcomes? The challenges it poses to deliberation in research ethics committees are considered, and it is concluded that race sometimes must be considered, subject to clearly stated qualifications.

[Ethnicity and race as variables in epidemiological research about inequity].

Epidemiology analyzes differences in states of health and disease of populations. Public Policies are established considering inequities associated with ethnicity and race. In this context, the identification of vulnerable groups for concentration of resources is relevant. Nevertheless, the lack of a clear definition of these variables might lead to biased results and interpretations. Two probl...

Should Race Be Used as a Variable in Research on Preterm Birth?

Racial variations in preterm birth (PTB) outcomes are well described, but causal mechanisms linking race and PTB are not. In clinical research, race is typically treated as representing fixed biological traits. In reality, race is a social construct that approximates lived experiences of historical and ongoing systematic discrimination and, in the case of PTB, particular stressors of black woma...

Questions about STDP as a General Model of Synaptic Plasticity

According to spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP), the timing of the Na(+) spike relative to the EPSP determines whether LTP or LTD will occur. Here, we review our reservations about STDP. Most investigations of this process have been done under conditions in which the spike is evoked by postsynaptic current injection. Under more realistic conditions, in which the spike is evoked by the EPS...

Reproducing or Constructing? Some Questions about Transcription in Social Research