Localizing the anatomical structures of the brain supporting language functions 
is one of the most exciting interdisciplinary goals of language inquiry, whose 
recent vigorous pursuit is bound to have far-reaching repercussions on the way 
we understand human language behaviour and human cognition in general. Until the 
advent of neuroimaging techniques, post mortem data, neuropsychological case studies, 
child language acquisition data and experimental tests were the only indirect 
evidence available. Nowadays neuroimaging allows in vivo inspection of regions 
of brain activity by measuring signals associated with blood flow increases in 
metabolically active tissues. Sophie Scott and Richard Wise, in their accessible 
“Functional imaging and language: A critical guide to methodology and 
analysis” (Speech Communication 41, 2003) unveil the secrets of using 
neuroimaging to study patterns of brain activity related to a language task (e.g. 
reading), and warn us against the risk of wrong design choices and unwarranted 
results. As the technique measures relative differences in blood flow (rather 
than absolute levels), the brain activity registered during the task is contrasted 
against a baseline condition. Selection of the appropriate such condition is thus 
of crucial importance. If the latter reveals a distinct activity pattern, these 
activated regions will be subtracted from the task condition and may wrongly be 
assumed to be irrelevant. A non-specialist willing to use this fascinating technique 
should be aware of the tricks of the trade to steer clear of these and other similar 
traps. The authors deal knowledgeably with a number of them.