As we continue to elucidate relationships between
neural structures and cognitive functioning in this Decade
of the Brain, it is important not to lose sight of the
larger context. The brain is but one component of the complex
system that is the body. We take in information and interact
with the world through our bodies, and our bodies change
with—and in some cases change—cognitive and
emotional processing. In this introductory paper, we present
an overview of a broad range of psychophysiological techniques:
electroencephalography, event-related potentials, magnetoencephalography,
positron emission tomography, optical imaging, functional
magnetic resonance imaging, electromyograms, eye tracking,
pupillometry, cardiovascular measures, and electrodermal
activity. These techniques not only differ in their temporal
and spatial resolutions but also in the physiological and
psychological processes to which they are sensitive. With
respect to the system as a whole, these techniques are
thus complementary. Combining measures—old and new,
central and peripheral—ultimately provides the most
inferential power for attacking the questions we hope to
answer with all psychophysiological measures in our quest
to understand the nature of the relationship between the
mind and the body.