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Psych (1.4.2) Biopsychology > Studying the brain > Flashcards

Studying the brain Flashcards

1
Q

What are the four main ways to study brain activity?

A
  • fMRI.
  • EEG.
  • ERP.
  • Post-mortem.
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2
Q

What does fMRI stand for?

A

Functional magnetic resonance imaging.

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3
Q

How does an fMRI work?

A

It detects changes in blood oxygenation and flow that occur in response to neural activity. (when a brain area is more active it consumes more oxygen and to meet this increased demand blood flow increases to the active area.)

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4
Q

How does an fMRI show you which areas of the brain are active?

A

The most active areas require the most oxygen and therefore an increased oxygen supply is shown in the diagram.

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5
Q

What is the final product of an fMRI?

A

It produces a picture of the brain with certain areas of varying intensities of colour to show how much each area is being used.

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6
Q

What would an fMRI show during speech production?

A

Broca’s area would light up.

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7
Q

What would an fMRI show during speech comprehension?

A

Wernicke’s area would light up.

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8
Q

What is spatial resolution?

A

The capacity of the brain scan to tell you which areas of the brain are active.

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9
Q

What is temporal resolution?

A

The brains ability to tell you exactly when the activation occurred.

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10
Q

What are the two types of resolution?

A

Spatial and Temporal.

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11
Q

How long after an event does an fMRI show activity?

A

Approximately 1-4 seconds (low temporal resolution).

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12
Q

How accurate are fMRI scans?

A

Approximately 1-2mm (good spatial resolution).

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13
Q

(AO3) fMRI - Causation:

A

fMRI scans do not provide a direct measure of neural activity, they simply measure changes in blood flow and therefore you cannot infer causation (at a neural level).

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14
Q

(AO3) fMRI - Non-invasive:

A

fMRI is a non-invasive procedure, it does not use radiation or insertion of instruments into the brain, therefore virtually risk-free.

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15
Q

(AO3) fMRI - Spatial resolution:

A

fMRI scans have a good spatial resolution, approximately 1-2mm which is greater than other techniques. Therefore you can measure with a greater accuracy.

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16
Q

(AO3) fMRI - Temporal resolution:

A

fMRI has a low temporal resolution, the delay is around 1-4 seconds which is much worse than other techniques. Consequently, the ecological validity is decreased.

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17
Q

What is the premise behind fMRIs?

A

The idea that neurons in the brain are most active during a task use the most energy, therefore the most oxygen.

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18
Q

When haemoglobin dissociates from oxygen it changes its magnetic quality, how is this used during an fMRI?

A

Areas using more oxygen have a higher magnetic quality and show up a varying colour in the image.

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19
Q

(AO3) fMRI - Cost:

A

fMRI is very expensive, amongst the costliest techniques, a machine costs upwards of a million pounds.

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20
Q

(AO3) fMRI - Boredom

A

If the participant gets bored and moves or does not participate fully in the study then the results would be inaccurate.

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21
Q

What does EEG stand for?

A

Electroencephalography.

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22
Q

What is the premise that EEG technology is based on?

A

The idea that information is processed in the brain as electrical activity in the form of action potentials or nerve impulses, transmitted along neurons.

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23
Q

What is the cost of EEG technology?

A

EEG is relatively cheap compared to other scans such as fMRI, costing hundreds of thousands rather than millions.

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24
Q

What is the temporal resolution of EEG?

A

Almost spontaneous (a matter of milliseconds).

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25
Q

How is brain activity recorded with an EEG?

A

Electrical activity is recorded through electrodes attached to the scalp using a skull cap.

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26
Q

Which scanning technique is used in hospitals to diagnose sleeping disorders and epilepsy?

A

EEG, (electroencephalography).

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27
Q

How do EEG caps work?

A

Electrodes attached to the the scalp measure the activity of millions of neurons, providing an account of overall brain activity.

28
Q

What does ERP stand for?

A

Event-related potential.

29
Q

(AO3) EEG - Temporal resolution:

A

EEG has an extremely high temporal resolution (can be less than a millisecond), meaning you can accurately detect brain activity exactly when it occurs.

30
Q

(AO3) EEG - Spatial resolution:

A

EEG has a relatively low spatial resolution, meaning it cannot be used to identify the exact location of function. If activity occurs in two very close locations it is hard to distinguish between two points.

31
Q

(AO3) EEG - Price:

A

EEG is not as expensive as other brain scanning techniques, the price is in the hundreds of thousands rather than millions.

32
Q

(AO3) EEG - Real life applications:

A

EEG’s have been used in hospitals to diagnose psycho-pathological diseases such as epilepsy and sleeping disorders, characterised by random bursts of activity that are easily detectable on the screen.

33
Q

Compare the temporal resolution of fMRIs and EEGs:

A 
EEG = High temporal resolution.
fMRI = Low temporal resolution.
34
Q

Compare the spatial resolution of fMRIs and EEGs:

A 
EEG = Low spatial resolution.
fMRI = High spatial resolution.
35
Q

Compare the costs of fMRIs and EEGs:

A 
EEG = Hundreds of thousands (low).
fMRI = Millions (high).
36
Q

What is the difference between temporal and spatial resolution?

A

Temporal resolution is the ability to tell when an action occurred while spatial resolution is the ability to tell exactly where an action occurred.

37
Q

Which brain scanning techniques use similar techniques?

A

EEGs and ERPs.

38
Q

Which techniques use a number of electrodes placed on a cap on the scalp?

A

EEG and ERP.

39
Q

What is the key difference between EEG and ERP?

A

ERPs involve presenting a stimulus to the participant and the researcher looks for activity related to the stimulus.

40
Q

What are the 4 types of EEG pattern?

A
  • Alpha waves.
  • Beta waves.
  • Theta waves.
  • Delta waves.
41
Q

Each of the 4 EEG patterns have two basic properties, what are these?

A

Amplitude and Frequency.

42
Q

EEG patterns have two distinctive states, what are these?

A

Synchronised and Desynchronised.

43
Q

During ERP scanning, the participant is presented with a stimulus. What is an example of a stimulus that they may be presented with?

A

A picture or a sound.

44
Q

What is ‘averaging’?

A

Where the background EEG is filtered out from the ERP data.

45
Q

What is latency?

A

The time delay between the presentation of a stimulus and the response in ERPs.

46
Q

In an ERP, responses can be divided into two broad categories, what are they?

A

Responses before 100 milliseconds = Sensory ERPs.

Responses after 100 milliseconds = Cognitive ERPs.

47
Q

What are sensory ERPs?

A

ERPs that occur before 100 milliseconds, they reflect a sensory response to the stimulus.

48
Q

What are cognitive ERPs?

A

ERPs that occur after 100 milliseconds, they demonstrate some informational processing.

49
Q

(AO3) ERP - Non-invasive:

A

ERP is a non-invasive technique, it does not involve radiation or insertion of instruments into the participant, meaning it is virtually risk-free.

50
Q

(AO3) ERP - Non-invasive:

A

ERP is a non-invasive technique, it does not involve radiation or insertion of instruments into the participant, meaning it is virtually risk-free.

51
Q

(AO3) ERP - Spatial resolution:

A

ERPs have a low spatial resolution meaning it is hard to distinguish exactly which area is active during the activity. (Only superficial areas can be studied)

52
Q

(AO3) ERP - Participant comfort:

A

It is argued that ERP can be uncomfortable for the participant as they have electrodes attached via the skull cap.

53
Q

(AO3) ERP - Temporal resolution:

A

ERP has very high temporal resolution as it takes measurements every millisecond, meaning the activity can be observed in real time.

54
Q

Which technique can only be done after an individual has died?

A

Post-mortem.

55
Q

Which technique was used by Paul Broca to discover Broca’s area?

A

Post-mortem.

56
Q

Iverson examined the brains of deceased schizophrenic patients and found that they had a much higher concentration of dopamine (especially in the limbic system), which technique did Iverson use?

A

Post-mortem.

57
Q

In a post-mortem, what type of techniques are used to analyse the brain?

A

Histological techniques.

58
Q

Post-mortems are most often used with what type of study?

A

Case studies (Broca, Wernicke…)

59
Q

What is the importance of a neuro-typical brain in post-mortems?

A

They allow comparisons to measure the extent of the difference in structures.

60
Q

What is a neuro-typical brain?

A

A control brain.

61
Q

What is the oldest technique for studying brains?

A

Post-mortems.

62
Q

Which technique was used by Wernicke to discover Wernicke’s area?

A

Post-mortem.

63
Q

(AO3) Post-mortem - Baseline:

A

They can be used to provide a hypothesis for future research and improve medical knowledge.

64
Q

(AO3) Post-mortem - Detail:

A

They allow us to see fine details on a microscopic level, the neural detail is very important for research into diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

65
Q

(AO3) Post-mortem - Practical applications:

A

They have provided practical applications in psychological discoveries. Paul Broca used this technique to discover Broca’s area which plays a vital role in speech production. 

66
Q

(AO3) Post-mortem - Conditions of study:

A

The study can only be done once the participant is dead, a change in the brain structure may changed when the person is alive to when they are dead.

67
Q

Which type of study allows for a detailed examination of both anatomical and neurochemical aspects of the brain?

A

Post-mortems.

Psych (1.4.2) Biopsychology (13 decks)

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