ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights the ways in which functional magnetic resonance imaging methods can be, and have been, harnessed to deepen the understanding of human memory. It provides a helpful overview of the various experimental design and data analysis procedures available to researchers to study the neural mechanisms of learning and memory. A key innovation in event-related designs was the application of variable inter-trial-intervals. Jesse Rissman, A. Gazzaley, and M. D'Esposito introduced the beta series correlation approach as a method for measuring correlated fluctuations in trial-to-trial activity across regions. The method is especially well suited for obtaining separate estimates of the functional connectivity for each stage of a multi-stage cognitive task. In blocked designs, trials from a given task condition are grouped together and presented in a block typically lasting 12 to 60 s in duration.
