Although lesion-deficit case studies are foundational in cognitive neuroscience, published papers presenting single lesion cases are declining. In this review, we argue that there is a valuable place for single-case lesion-deficit research, especially when combined with functional neuroimaging methods, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). To support this, we present a summary of notable findings from single-case combined lesion-deficit and fMRI studies published in recent years (2017–2020). These studies show the unique value that this combined approach brings to the understanding of complex functions, brain-level connectivity, and plasticity and recovery. We encourage researchers to consider combining lesion-deficit and functional imaging methods in the analysis of single cases, as this approach affords unique opportunities to address challenging unanswered questions about brain–behavior relationships.

尽管损伤缺陷病例研究是认知神经科学的基础，但发表的单一损伤病例的论文正在减少。在这篇综述中，我们认为单例病变缺陷研究具有重要价值，特别是与功能性神经影像方法（例如功能性磁共振成像（fMRI））相结合时。为了支持这一点，我们总结了近年来（2017-2020）发表的单例病变缺陷和功能磁共振成像联合研究的显着结果。这些研究表明，这种组合方法为理解复杂功能、大脑水平连接以及可塑性和恢复带来了独特的价值。我们鼓励研究人员考虑在单个病例的分析中结合病变缺陷和功能成像方法，因为这种方法提供了独特的机会来解决有关大脑行为关系的具有挑战性的未解答问题。