Functional MRI: Cognitive neuroscience applications

Abstract

Cognitive neuroscience is a discipline that attempts to determine the neural mechanisms underlying cognitive processes. Specifically, cognitive neuroscientists test hypotheses about brain–behavior relationships that can be organized along two conceptual domains: (1) functional specialization – the idea that functional modules exist within the brain, i.e., areas of the cerebral cortex that are specialized for a specific cognitive process; and (2) functional integration – the idea that a cognitive process can be an emergent property of interactions among a network of brain regions, which suggests that a brain region can play a different role across many functions.