ABSTRACT
The human brain has been the subject of much scientific research. While a tremendous amount of information exists and considerable progress has been made in unlocking its many mysteries, many gaps in understanding exist. However, it is not essential to understand in full detail how a given function of the brain is mediated in order to accept that it (i.e., the function) exists, or to understand how to maximally isolate, stress, and characterize at least selected attributes of its performance quantitatively. In this chapter, a systems view of major functional aspects of the brain is used as a basis for discussing methods employed to measure what can be termed central processing performance capacities. Central
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processing capacities are distinguished from the information that is processed. In humans, the latter can be viewed to represent the contents of memory (e.g., facts,“programs,” etc.). Clearly, both the information itself and the characteristics of the systems that process it (i.e., the various capacities discussed below) combine to realize what are commonly observed as skills whether perceptual, motor, cognitive, or other.
