Neuroimaging, Neurophysiological, and Neurobehavioral Techniques

Abstract

The rapid developments in neuroimaging and neuroscience techniques over the past decade have been remarkable, and a number of procedures now exist for assessing and visualizing various aspects of brain structure and function. As new developments emerge and continue to evolve, we are also likely to see an increased use of combinations of techniques. For example, in the early days of computerized tomography (CT), a heretofore unprecedented depiction of gross brain morphology was available, yet it was only with the addition of neuropsy-chological and neurophysiological techniques to CT information that the important questions of structure-function relationships became more amenable to investigation. This heralded a new era in our understanding of brain structure-function interrelationships. Other important techniques that are discussed throughout this text include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for structural imaging and positron emission tomography (PET), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), functional MRI, quantitative electroencephalogra phy (EEG), and magnetoencephalography (MEG) for assessing aspects of brain function. In this chapter, we will provide brief overviews of some of these areas as they relate to indices of neuropsychological functioning. An emphasis will be placed on some of the more recent integrations of such techniques.