02 Cognitive Psychology: Module 5

Module 5: Cognitive Neuroscience Methods Neuroscientific methods are used to gain insight into how the brain influences the way individuals think, feel, and act. There is an array of methods, which can be used to analyze the brain and its relationship to behavior. Well-known techniques include EEG (electroencephalography) which records the brain’s electrical activity and fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) which produces detailed images of brain structure and activity. Other methods, such as the lesion method and case studies, are lesser known, but still influential in today's neuroscience research. Methods can be organized into the following categories: anatomical, physiological, and functional. Other techniques include modulating brain activity, analyzing behavior or computational modeling. When evaluating the various cognitive neuroscience methods used in experiments, it is important to consider the temporal resolution and spatial resolution of the method. Temporal resolution refers to the degree to which the measure is sensitive to events in time. The higher the temporal resolution, the better the measure is at quickly detecting changes in neural activity. Spatial resolution refers to how precise the measure is at localizing neural activity. At its best, the ideal spatial resolution would be at the level of individual neurons, but this is rarely the case. The higher the spatial resolution, the more accurate the method is at identifying what specific areas are stimulated during a cognitive process.