Neurokognition

Neurokognition refers to the study of how neural processes give rise to cognitive functions such as perception, attention, memory, language, problem solving, and social cognition. The field integrates principles from neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and computational modeling to understand how brain activity supports mental experience and behavior.

Neural mechanisms of cognition involve distributed brain networks rather than isolated centers. The prefrontal cortex supports executive functions and goal-directed behavior; the hippocampus and medial temporal structures are critical for forming and retrieving memories; parietal regions contribute to attention, spatial processing, and numerical reasoning; temporal lobes support language and semantic memory. Cognitive processes emerge from dynamic interactions among these regions, modulated by neural oscillations, synaptic plasticity, and neurotransmitter systems.

Methods used in neurokognition include noninvasive neuroimaging (functional magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography), electrophysiology (electroencephalography, magnetoencephalography), and brain stimulation techniques (transcranial magnetic stimulation, transcranial direct current stimulation). Behavioral experiments, lesion studies, and computational modeling complement these data to test hypotheses about brain–behavior relationships and to build quantitative accounts of cognitive processes.

Clinical relevance is a major focus, with neurokognition informing understanding of disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia, ADHD, schizophrenia, and after brain injury. It also examines aging-related changes in cognition and strategies for rehabilitation, cognitive training, and brain–computer interfaces. The field continues to refine network-based theories of cognitive architecture and to explore how neural dynamics underpin learning, adaptation, and decision making.