Paper: nsl019 OUP Studying mind and brain with fMRI

The explosion in publications using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) warrants an examination of how the technique is being used to study processes of mind and brain. Here, we propose a classification of fMRI studies that reveals how this technique is being used in the service of understanding psychological and neural processes and the relationship between the two. In 1993, the number of published articles citing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was fewer than 20. In 2003, that number was nearly 1800. Although not exponential, the rise in publications year by year during this interval was positively accelerated. What is it that psychologists and neuroscientists have found useful about this technique (and about other techniques such as positron emission tomography and event-related potentials)? That is, what use is being made of data from fMRI experiments? As this technology matures, we take a moment to reflect on the ways in which fMRI has been used to study min