Can current methods of pathonormal inference tell us anything about modularity?

This commentary on Muller's target article is designed to help bridge the g ap between method and theory in neurobiological approaches to language. We focus on pathonormal inference as reflective of broader conceptual issues c oncerning universality and modularity. Our commentary directs attention to how current methodological and analytic procedures are less than optimal an d minimize possibilities for reaching theoretical consensus. We make sugges tions about alternative analytic strategies that provide a direction for fu ture scientific progress.