Based on improvements in noninvasive technologies for displaying information about ongoing brain activity, cognitive neuroscience is creating maps that correlate behavior and conscious reports with detailed brain function.

Experiments using imaging tools such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) enable researchers to measure changes in brain activity during awake behavior at varying temporal and spatial resolutions, from monitoring small neural clusters to large brain regions. The development of cognitive neuroscience is partly driven by attempts to increase imaging resolution, with the long-term goal of measuring single neurons over the course of milliseconds.

In the shorter term, researchers are making significant progress by studying millions of neurons in isolated brain regions as humans carry out various visual tasks. A number of areas in the human visual cortex have been mapped in detail according to how they process different types of images. For example, a "parahippocampal place" area responds strongly whenever participants view images of indoor or outdoor scenes but reacts weakly to viewing faces or objects. The brain seems to analyze different object classes in different places using distinct neural networks, each tuned for different types of stimuli.

The McGovern institute is sponsoring advanced studies of the functional anatomy of the visual cortex while developing the technologies to record neurological functions in exquisite detail. Such research will aid in understanding the effects and potential reversal of brain damage, as well as providing more clarity on the computational complexity of the normal brain.