Cognitive neuroscience seeks to understand “how the functions of the physical brain can yield the thoughts and ideas of an intangible mind”; that is, the relationship between cognitive computations and data about the brain. The field is a bridge between cognitive psychology, in which Computationalist and connectionist approaches to cognition, and neuroscience, which concerns the physical substrate of cognitive processes.
Research methods in cognitive neuroscience include:
- Investigating cognitive changes after changes in the physical brain (e.g., injury);
- Gathering data about brain activity during cognition (e.g., FMRI);
- Data gathered from animals, such as monkeys, using more invasive techniques.