Cognitive Neuroscience: Applied Cognitive Psychology

The Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition (SARMAC) was founded in 1994 with a major purpose “to enhance collaboration and co-operation between basic and applied researchers in memory and cognition.” Cognitive neuroscience presents opportunities to help actualize the SARMAC vision. The current translational zeitgeist promoted by the National Institutes of Mental Health can be seen as a call for behavioral cognitive psychologists and researchers in cognitive and clinical neuroscience to collaborate to build cumulative knowledge that will advance understanding and treatment of mental disorders. I describe some examples of connections among cognitive psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and clinical neuroscience that are informative from my perspective as a basic researcher in cognitive psychology, and that address (but do not yet answer) some fundamental questions of clinical significance. I also note some challenges of balancing between the goals of understanding and prediction.