Network neuroscience represents the brain as a collection of regions and inter‐regional connections. Given its ability to formalize systems‐level models, network neuroscience has generated unique explanations of neural function and behavior. The mechanistic status of these explanations and how they can contribute to and fit within the field of neuroscience as a whole has received careful treatment from philosophers. However, these philosophical contributions have not yet reached many neuroscientists. Here we complement formal philosophical efforts by providing an applied perspective from and for neuroscientists. We discuss the mechanistic status of the explanations offered by network neuroscience and how they contribute to, enhance, and interdigitate with other types of explanations in neuroscience. In doing so, we rely on philosophical work concerning the role of causality, scale, and mechanisms in scientific explanations. In particular, we make the distinction between an explanation and the evidence supporting that explanation, and we argue for a scale‐free nature of mechanistic explanations. In the course of these discussions, we hope to provide a useful applied framework in which network neuroscience explanations can be exercised across scales and combined with other fields of neuroscience to gain deeper insights into the brain and behavior.

中文翻译：

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论网络科学提供的解释的本质：实践神经科学家的观点。


网络神经科学将大脑表示为区域和区域间连接的集合。鉴于其形式化系统级模型的能力，网络神经科学已经对神经功能和行为产生了独特的解释。这些解释的机械状态以及它们如何为整个神经科学领域做出贡献并适应整个神经科学领域，受到了哲学家的仔细对待。然而，这些哲学贡献尚未被许多神经科学家所接受。在这里，我们通过为神经科学家提供应用视角来补充正式的哲学努力。我们讨论网络神经科学提供的解释的机械状态，以及它们如何贡献、增强神经科学中的其他类型的解释并与其他类型的解释相互结合。为此，我们依赖于有关科学解释中因果关系、规模和机制的作用的哲学著作。特别是，我们区分了解释和支持该解释的证据，并且我们主张机械解释的无标度性质。在这些讨论过程中，我们希望提供一个有用的应用框架，在该框架中网络神经科学解释可以跨尺度进行运用，并与神经科学的其他领域相结合，以获得对大脑和行为的更深入的了解。