Table 1.

Specific challenges for neuroscience communication.

Context	Challenges for Communicating
Complexity of the brain	Conveying intricate molecular pathways, their interactions, and their impact as understanding about the brain continues to emerge from varied neuroscience subspecialties.
Personal, philosophical and religious salience to mind and body	Advancing scientific inquiry about brain function and biologically-based causes of behavior that challenge the nature of “belief” leading to new definitions of normal behavior, increased understanding of how humans think and learn, and potentially socially charged attributions of moral responsibility.
Burden of central nervous system disease and impact on public health	Addressing the overwhelming personal and societal impact of diseases of the central nervous systems that engenders both high awareness and unfettered hope for and unsubstantiated hype of discoveries in neuroscience for diagnoses, treatments, and cures.
Stigma of neurological and mental health disorders	Navigating negative social perceptions that persist about the causes of, and reasons for, mental health disorders make meaningful public discussions about these conditions difficult, if not sometimes impossible.