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Journal Article 2.1: Gonsalves, B. D., & Cohen, N. J. (2010). Brain imaging, cognitive processes, and brain networks. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5(6), 744-752.

Abstract: The recent, rapid expansion of the application of neuroimaging techniques to a broad variety of questions about the structure and function of mind and brain has led to much necessary and often critical introspection about what these techniques can actually tell us about cognitive processes. In this article, we attempt to place neuroimaging within the broader context of the cognitive neuroscience approach, which emphasizes the benefits of converging methodologies for understanding cognition and how it is supported by the functioning of the brain. Our arguments for what neuroimaging has to offer are supported by two specific examples from research on memory that, we believe, show how neuroimaging data have provided unique insights not only into brain organization, but also into the organization of the mind.

Journal Article 2.2: Ranganath, C. (2010). Binding items and contexts: The cognitive neuroscience of episodic memory. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 19(3), 131-137.

Abstract: In order to remember a past event, the brain must not only encode the specific aspects of an event but also bind them in a manner that can later specify the spatiotemporal context in which event occurred. Here, I describe recent research aimed at characterizing the functional organization of two brain regions--the medial temporal lobes and the prefrontal cortex--that allow us to accomplish this task. Converging evidence indicates that different regions of the medial temporal lobes may form representations of items, contexts, and item-context bindings and that areas in the prefrontal cortex may implement working-memory control processes that allow us to build meaningful relationships between items that are encountered over time. The results are compatible with an emerging model that generates novel predictions at both the behavioral and neural levels.

Journal Article 2.3: Poldrack, R. A. (2010). Mapping mental function to brain structure: How can cognitive neuroimaging succeed? Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5(6), 753-761.

Abstract: The goal of cognitive neuroscience is to identify the mapping between brain function and mental processing. In this article, I examine the strategies that have been used to identify such mappings and argue that they may be fundamentally unable to identify selective structure–function mappings. To understand the functional anatomy of mental processes, it will be necessary for researchers to move from the brain-mapping strategies that the field has employed toward a search for selective associations. This will require a greater focus on the structure of cognitive processes, which can be achieved through the development of formal ontologies that describe the structure of mental processes. In this article, I outline the Cognitive Atlas Project, which is developing such ontologies, and show how this knowledge could be used in conjunction with data-mining approaches to more directly relate mental processes and brain function.

Journal Article 2.4: Varma, S., McCandliss, B. D., & Schwartz, D. L. (2016). Scientific and pragmatic challenges for bridging education and neuroscience. Educational Researcher, 37(3), 140-152.

Abstract: Educational neuroscience is an emerging effort to integrate neuroscience methods, particularly functional neuroimaging, with behavioral methods to address issues of learning and instruction. This article consolidates common concerns about connecting education and neuroscience. One set of concerns is scientific: in-principle differences in methods, data, theory, and philosophy. The other set of concerns is pragmatic: considerations of costs, timing, locus of control, and likely payoffs. The authors first articulate the concerns and then revisit them, reinterpreting them as potential opportunities. They also provide instances of neuroscience findings and methods that are relevant to education. The goal is to offer education researchers a window into contemporary neuroscience to prepare them to think more specifically about the prospects of educational neuroscience.