What was the question? fMRI and inference in psychophysiology

fMRI research has spent its first generation determining areas of high activation in the brain during various psychological tasks. The technique has proved exceedingly useful for asking where is the brain active during these tasks. This paper investigates the utility of asking the question “where is the brain active” and provides the reader with a useful analogy to simplify the logic and decisions being made when doing fMRI research. Rationales are considered for asking both the questions: “where is the brain active” and “how does the brain work?”