It is an
exciting time for the discipline of cognitive neuroscience. In the past 10
years we have
witnessed an
explosion in the development and advancement of methods that allow us to
precisely examine the neural mechanisms underlying cognitive processes.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging, for example, has provided markedly
improved spatial and temporal resolution of brain structure and function, which
has led to answers to new questions, and the reexamination of old questions.
However, in my opinion, the explosive impact that functional neuroimaging has
had on cognitive neuroscience may in some ways be responsible for moving us
away from our roots—the study of patients with brain damage as a window into
the functioning of the normal brain. Thus, my motivation for creating this book
was to provide a collection of chapters that would highlight the interface between
the study of patients with cognitive deficits and the study of cognition in
normal individuals.
Each chapter in
this book was written by a neurologist who also practices cognitive
neuroscience. Each chapter begins with a description of a case report, often a
patient seen by the author, and describes the symptoms seen in this patient,
laying the foundation for the cognitive processes to be explored. After the
clinical description, the authors have provided a historical background about
what we have learned about these particular neurobehavioral syndromes through
clinical observation and neuropsychological investigation. Each chapter then
explores investigations using a variety of methods—single-unit
electrophysiological recording in awake-behaving monkeys, behavioral studies of
normal healthy subjects, event-related potential and functional neuroimaging
studies of both normal individuals and neurological patients—aimed at understanding
the neural mechanisms underlying the cognitive functions affected in each
particular clinical syndrome.
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