What Can Neuroimaging Research Tell Us About Inference Generation during Text Comprehension?

During text comprehension, individuals often need to represent information that is not explicitly stated in a text by generating inferences. To understand what cognitive processes and corresponding neural substrates are involved when individuals generate inferences, researchers have utilized neuroimaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Although relatively few fMRI studies have explicitly investigated inference making, we discuss several neuroimaging findings that we think make unique contributions to the field. Next, we discuss some issues with fMRI that make it challenging for researchers to draw conclusions. Finally, we propose several ideas that researchers could incorporate into future fMRI studies to enhance our understanding of inference generation during text comprehension.