ABSTRACT
In this chapter we introduce some of the methods that are used in neuropsychology to explore the relationship between brain structure and function. In Chapter 1 we described neuropsychology as a “bridging discipline” and consequently there are a wide range of methodologies involved-from neuroanatomical procedures at one end of the spectrum, through to experimental psychology assessments at the other. The advent of in-vivo neuroimaging techniques over the last 20 years has revolutionised neuropsychology, providing research opportunities that were previously unthinkable. In-vivo imaging has, for example, confirmed some of the long-suspected roles of particular brain regions in certain psychological processes (e.g., the role of anterior cingulate cortex in attention; see Chapter 9). Imaging techniques have also revealed the complexity inherent in functions that traditional neuropsychology had previously oversimplified. Imaging of language processes is an example of this, as discussed in Chapter 6.
