ways of investigating the brain

Question 1

list the four ways of investigating the brain

Answer 1

functional mri, eeg, erp, post mortems

Question 2

describe fmri

Answer 2

brain scanning technique that measures blood flow in the brain when a person performs a task. works on the premise that neurons in the brain that are the most active use the most energy. creates a dynamic 3d map of the brain highlighting different areas of neural activity

Question 3

list the advantages of fmri

Answer 3

does not use radiation, risk free, non invasive, extremely detailed images, high spatial resolution (clear image)

Question 4

list the disadvantages of fmri

Answer 4

expensive, has to stay completely still, cannot measure activity in individual neurons, poor temporal resolution (5 second delay)

Question 5

describe an electroencephalogram (eeg)

Answer 5

works on the premise that info is processed in the brain as electrical activity in the form of action potentials or nerve impulses transmitted along neurons. measure electrical activity through electrodes attached to the scalp, graphed over a period of time indicating the level of brain activity.

Question 6

list the advantages of eeg

Answer 6

high temporal resolution (single millisecond), invaluable in diagnosing epilepsy and sleep disorders

Question 7

list the disadvantages of eeg

Answer 7

cannot pinpoint exact source of neural activity, can be difficult to distinguish between areas, lower spatial resolution

Question 8

describe event related potentials (erp)

Answer 8

reading taken from eeg results, presents a stimulus and looks for activity related to it

Question 9

list advantages of erp

Answer 9

more specific results than simple eeg scan, high temporal validity (single millisecond), can detect many types of erp and the specific role of these in cognitive functioning

Question 10

list disadvantages of erp

Answer 10

lack of standardisation in methodology between research studies makes it difficult to confirm findings

Question 11

describe postmortems

Answer 11

dead person with rare disorder or mental processes investigated as part of psychological research. examines brain and compares it to healthy brain to see the difference

Question 12

list advantages of postmortems

Answer 12

vital at providing a foundation of early understanding of key processes in the brain, Broca and Wernicke relied on them to establish links between brain and language

Question 13

list disadvantages of post mortems

Answer 13

brain damage may not be linked to the symptoms investigated and assumptions may be made, patient cannot give informed consent (however can consent to body being used for science after death)