Reductionism and Proxy Failure: From Neuroscience to Target-Based Drug Discovery Publisher Pubmed



Sadri A^{1, 2} ; Paknezhad S³
Source: Behavioral and Brain Sciences Published:2024

Abstract

Reductionist methodologies reduce phenomena to some of their lower-level components. Researchers gradually shift their focus away from observing the actual object of study toward investigating and optimizing such lower-level proxies. Following reductionism, these proxies progressively diverge further from the original object of study. We vividly illustrate this in the evolution of target-based drug discovery from rational and phenotypic drug discovery. Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press.