A broad spectrum of different invasive and non-invasive methods are used in the cognitive neurosciences.Each of these methods is used to study a different aspect of the brain, and each has its advantages and disadvantages.  

Imaging techniques are very well suited to studying the activity in networks of brain regions, while electrophysiology can provide very accurate information about the actual local activity of neurons. Which method is actually used always depends on the topic being studied. Often, very complicated problems can only be answered with a combination of experiments using multiple research methods.  

On the following pages we will take a closer look at the methods employed at our institute. At the same time, we will examine some of the alternatives that have been proposed by animal research opponents.