MIT Libraries logoDSpace@MIT

MIT
View Item 
  • DSpace@MIT Home
  • MIT Open Access Articles
  • MIT Open Access Articles
  • View Item
  • DSpace@MIT Home
  • MIT Open Access Articles
  • MIT Open Access Articles
  • View Item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

How fMRI Can Inform Cognitive Theories

Author(s)
Kanwisher, Nancy; Mather, Mara; Cacioppo, John T.
Thumbnail
DownloadKanwisher_How fMRI can inform.pdf (37.75Kb)
OPEN_ACCESS_POLICY

Open Access Policy

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike

Terms of use
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Metadata
Show full item record
Abstract
How can functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) advance cognitive theory? Some have argued that fMRI can do little beyond localizing brain regions that carry out certain cognitive functions (and may not even be able to do that). However, in this article, we argue that fMRI can inform theories of cognition by helping to answer at least four distinct kinds of questions. Which mental functions are performed in brain regions specialized for just that function (and which are performed in more general-purpose brain machinery)? When fMRI markers of a particular Mental Process X are found, is Mental Process X engaged when people perform Task Y? How distinct are the representations of different stimulus classes? Do specific pairs of tasks engage common or distinct processing mechanisms? Thus, fMRI data can be used to address theoretical debates that have nothing to do with where in the brain a particular process is carried out.
Date issued
2013-01
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/91026
Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Journal
Perspectives on Psychological Science
Publisher
Sage Publications
Citation
Mather, M., J. T. Cacioppo, and N. Kanwisher. “How fMRI Can Inform Cognitive Theories.” Perspectives on Psychological Science 8, no. 1 (January 1, 2013): 108–113.
Version: Author's final manuscript
ISSN
1745-6916
1745-6924

Collections
  • MIT Open Access Articles

Browse

All of DSpaceCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

My Account

Login

Statistics

OA StatisticsStatistics by CountryStatistics by Department
MIT Libraries
PrivacyPermissionsAccessibilityContact us
MIT
Content created by the MIT Libraries, CC BY-NC unless otherwise noted. Notify us about copyright concerns.