Bio- Studying The Brain

Question 1

What are the four ways in which you can study the brain

Answer 1

• FMRI
• EEG
• ERPS
• post mortem

Question 2

What is a FMRI

Answer 2

• show 3D scans providing structural and functional information if the brain
• show changes in brain activity
• do this by using a very strong magnetic field and radio waves

Question 3

What happens with the different types of blood in a FMRI

Answer 3

• more oxygenated blood flows to active areas - supply neurons with oxygen and glucose
• molecules in the oxygenated blood respond differently to the magnetic field
• more active areas can be identified

Question 4

What are the uses of an FMRI scan

Answer 4

• used to research about the brain- participants can carry out tasks to identify what parts are active when doing different tasks
• used to diagnose a medical problem- can show damaged and diseased areas
• study abnormal activity

Question 5

Evaluation of FMRI

Answer 5

:)provide a non-invasive way of studying the brain

:( very expensive to buy and use
:( can be a problem for people with clastriphobia as they need to lie down in an enclosed space for a while
:( poor temporal resolution (don’t show changes over time accurately)

Question 6

What are EEGs

Answer 6

• show the overall electrical activity of the brain
• picks up signals of many neurons
• multiple electrodes are placed on the scalp and the electrical activity of the brain is record for a period of time
• produced a pattern of waves that can represent different levels of arousaland consciousness- stages of sleep

Question 7

What are the uses of EEGs

Answer 7

• used in sleep studies
• used to study conditions like depression and Sz- abnormal wave patterns compared to others
• abnormal EEGs identified in patients with eating disorders
• potential to be used as a diagnostic tool

Question 8

Evaluation of EEGs

Answer 8

\:) non-invasive 
\:) cheaper to carry out then FMRI 
\:) good temporal validity 
\:( bad spatial resolution 
- hard to work out which part of the brain the waves originated from

Question 9

What are ERPS

Answer 9

• can look at how a EEGs wave pattern changes in response to a stimulus
• if a specific stimulus is presented it produces a specific change

Question 10

What are the uses of ERPS

Answer 10

• used a lot in memory research given them clues about information processing
• can show how differences in ERPS can be when you have a psychic disorder

Question 11

What are post mortems

Answer 11

• involve dissecting the brain of a person who has died

- allows us to physically look at the internal structure of the brain

Question 12

What are the uses of post mortems

Answer 12

• if a person when they were alive had a medical condition a post mortem could show up any structural abnormalities that could explain their condition
• provide evidence for localisation of function in the brain

Question 13

Evaluations of post mortem

Answer 13

• :( person has to dead before it can be carried out, won’t benefit from it
  :( do give us information but they don’t allow cause and effect to be established