Methods to Study Human Memory

Abstract A wide range of methods have advanced understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying human memory function. For decades, the lesion approach served as the gold standard in localizing function and establishing causal relationships between anatomy and behavior. Since the 1990s, a wealth of evidence from neuroimaging (positron emission tomography and functional magnetic resonance imaging) and neurophysiological studies (magnetoelectroencephalography, scalp electroencephalography [EEG], intracranial EEG, and single-unit recordings) has provided more detailed insights into the functional mechanisms of large-scale neuronal networks that enable memory formation. In addition, methodological advances in the ability to alter brain activity through electrical or magnetic stimulation have offered new insights into the role of such activity in causally modulating memory encoding, consolidation, and retrieval. This chapter reviews these methodological approaches and their strengths and weaknesses in addressing theoretical issues in memory research.