ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with one of the most established methods, neuropsychology. It discusses the rapidly developing field of brain imaging. The chapter concludes with a brief account of the more basic biological approaches that go beyond systems neuroscience to study the neurobiological basis of memory, and of its potential genetic control, areas that have so far had relatively little impact at the psychological level. Patients who suffer brain damage often have memory problems, with the nature of the problem often being associated to a greater or lesser degree with the cause and anatomical location of the damage. Magnetic resonance imaging involves placing the person’s head in a strong magnetic field. The scanner emits radio waves in a series of brief pulses of different frequency. These are absorbed by the brain, which, when the field is turned off, release the absorbed energy.
