Using copyrighted images for research, not publication Does one violate the copyright of images in any sense if one uses them in research (for example in memory tasks) and writes a scientific publication based on these data, but does not publish images in the article?

Is this part of the fair use policy?
While the key would seem to be to make sure that you cite the use of the images, I would also contact the creator of the images to make sure that they are fine with reusing them.  I did this while working on my dissertation, which not only secured permission, but also served as networking.