ABSTRACT
This chapter considers how functional imaging methods work, focusing in particular on functional magnetic resonance imaging. It also considers how structural and functional brain imaging works, with particular reference to underlying neurophysiology. The chapter focuses on methodological factors that are important in ensuring that the results obtained can indeed be meaningfully linked to cognitive theory. It discusses how functional imaging data are analyzed to find regions of activation and considers some of the pitfalls in their interpretation. Computerized tomography scans are constructed according to the amount of X-ray absorption in different types of tissue. Whereas structural imaging measures the permanent characteristics of the brain, functional imaging is designed to measure the moment-to-moment variable characteristics of the brain that may be associated with changes in cognitive processing. The process of stereotactic normalization involves mapping regions of each individual brain onto a standard brain.
