Expanding the cross-species lens: Rodents in focus

Cross-species functional neuroimaging is evolving from a niche pursuit to an emerging theme in systems neuroscience, with the potential to broaden the questions we can address about brain function through comparative work. Initially confined to studies of non-human primates, cross-species functional neuroimaging has in recent years — and in 2025 in particular — produced highly promising demonstrations of its potential when extended to rodents. In this short perspective, we highlight key achievements in this direction and discuss how the complementary insights afforded by this approach may prove useful for addressing long-standing questions in human neuroimaging.