Abstract
The field of cognitive neuroscience was born in the late 1970s, but was transformed over the next two decades with the development of techniques such as positron emission tomography and functional magnetic brain imaging, which have allowed the activity of the brain in healthy people to be visualized while they carry out psychological tasks. ‘A recent field’ considers the importance of understanding and interpreting brain images and how they can be used to answer psychological questions. Imaging can advance psychology in three ways: by trying to account for human capacities, by considering human limitations, and by providing an explanation for the psychological effects of disorders of the nervous system.
