A method of measuring brain activity that maps statistically significant changes in blood flow to the brain as it performs a task, as compared to blood flow during a control condition. The popular understanding of how fMRI techniques work is rather different than how they actually do: fMRI scans do not provide a simple picture of brain function.

The popular notion that the human brain is essentially preprogrammed for behavior at birth. Fine (and many other scientists) cast doubt upon this theory, believing behavior to be the result of complex interactions between brain, genes, and environment.

The concentration of brain activity in one half or the other of the brain. Neurosexist theories suggest that men’s brains lateralize their functions more than women’s do, thereby justifying stories about men’s and women’s different capacities; the evidence does not support these theories.