Task 6 - Design and analysis of neuroimaging experiments

Task 6 - Design and analysis of neuroimaging experiments From image to cognitive theory: experimental design (Ward) + Study design in fMRI: Basic Principles (Amaro) + Some additions from the 'Further Readings and Links' An example of cognitive subtraction methodology Cognitive subtraction - the idea that, by comparing the activity of the brain in a task that utilizes a particular cognitive component (e.g. the visual lexicon) to the activity of the brain in a baseline task that does not, we can infer which regions are specialized for this particular cognitive component. Since the brain is always physiologically active, it's impossible to infer from a single task which regions are dedicated to specific aspects of the task. That's why we always need to compare 2 or more tasks/conditions. Peterson study: aims to find brain regions related involved with (1) recognizing written words, (2) saying the words; and (3) retrieving the meaning of the words.