fMRI: Applications in Cognitive Neuroscience

Neuroimaging has, in many respects, revolutionized the study of cognitive neuroscience, the discipline that attempts to determine the neural mechanisms underlying cognitive processes. Early studies of brain–behavior relationships relied on a precise neurological exam as the basis for hypothesizing the site of brain damage that was responsible for a given behavioral syndrome. The advent of structural brain imaging, first with computerized tomography and later with magnetic resonance imaging, paved the way for more precise anatomical localization of the cognitive deficits that manifest after brain injury. In recent years, functional neuroimaging, broadly defined as techniques that provide measures of brain activity, has further increased our ability to study the neural basis of behavior. fMRI, in particular, has rapidly emerged as an extremely powerful technique that affords excellent spatial and temporal resolution. This chapter focuses on the principles underlying fMRI as a cognitive neuroscience tool for exploring brain-behavior relationships.