The Cognitive Neuroscience Toolkit for the Neuroeconomist: A Functional Overview

This article provides the beginning neuroeconomist with an introductory overview to the different methods used in human neuroscience. It describes basic strengths and weaknesses of each technique, points to examples of how each technique has been used in neuroeconomic studies, and provides key tutorial references that contain more detailed information. In addition to this overview, the article presents a framework that organizes human neuroscience methods functionally, according to whether they provide tests of the association between brain activity and cognition or behavior, or whether they test the necessity or the sufficiency of brain activity for cognition and behavior. This framework demonstrates the utility of a multimethod research approach, because converging evidence from tests of association, necessity, and sufficiency provides the strongest inference regarding brain–behavior relationships. Set against this goal of converging evidence, human neuroscience studies in neuroeconomics currently rely far too heavily on methods that test association, most notably functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).