Investigating the Brain Flashcards
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
Detects changes in blood oxygenation and flow that occurs if neural activity is in specific parts of the brain
Shows which part of the brain use larger amounts of oxygen therefore more active
Used for injuries or tumours
Evaluation fMRI (Good)
Doesn’t rely on the use of radiation
Non-invasive and straight forward
High spatial resolution (details by the mm)
Evaluation fMRI (Bad)
Low temporal resolution
Expensive
Only measure blood flow and can’t focus on individual neurons
Clear image if person is completely still
Electroencephalograms (EEGs)
Measure electrical brain activity via electrodes using a skull cap
Generates brainwave patters from the action of neurons
Diagnostic tool
EEGs Evaluation (Good)
Important for diagnosis of conditions characterised by a burst of activity
Contributed to our understanding of the stages in sleep
High temporal resolution (1ms)
EEGs Evaluation (Bad)
Generalised information
Can’t get the full picture
Event Related Potentials (ERPs)
Isolates neural responses associated with sensory, cognitive and motor events
Filters out extraneous brain activity
Types of brainwaves triggered by specific events
ERPs Evaluation (Good)
Specific to the measurement of neural processes
Excellent temporal resolution
Different types of ERPs and describe the precise role of cognitive functioning
ERPs evaluation (bad)
Lack of standardisation- hard to verify findings
Background noise and extraneous material must be eliminated
Post-mortem examinations
Analysis of the brain following their death
People with a rare disorder or areas that are damaged usually have these
Post-mortem evaluation (good)
Provides a foundation for early understanding of key processes
Broca and werniche relied on these
Improve medical knowledge and help hypotheses
Post-mortem evaluation (bad)
Causation is an issue
Observed damage may not be linked to deficits under review
Ethical issues of consent from patient before death
