Convergent approaches to electrophysiological and hemodynamic investigations of memory

The strengths and weaknesses of electrophysiological and hemodynamic methods for investigating neural activity associated with mnemonic processes are discussed, and an example is given of how the two classes of methods can be employed to provide complementary information about the neural basis of memory. The advantages of event-related fMRI over conventional functional neuroimaging approaches are illustrated in the context of a study of recognition memory. Finally, some of the issues that must be confronted by efforts to integrate electrophysiological and hemodynamic data in a formal sense are outlined.