ways of studying brain ao3

Question 1

FMRIS (doesnt rely on radiation)

Answer 1

• doesnt rely on radiation like other techniques eg PET
• if administered right it is non invasive risk free and straightforward
• also produces very high spatial resolution showing detail
• shows how brains activity is localised
• fMRI can safely show brains activity

Question 2

FMRIS (it is expensive)

Answer 2

• more expensive compared to other techniques
• poor temporal resolution
• as 5 second time lag behind image and initial firing of activity
• so fMRI may not truly represent moment to moment brain activity

Question 3

EEG (useful in studying stages of sleep)

Answer 3

• useful to study stages of sleep and epilepsy shown by random bursts of brain activity that can be detected
• has high temporal resolution
• can accurately detect brain activity at resolution of a milisecond shows real world usefulness

Question 4

EEG (not useful pinpointing activity)

Answer 4

• has generalised nature of information received
• the EEG signal is not useful in pinpointing exact source of neural activity
• difficult for researchers to find neural activity in different but adjacent locations

Question 5

ERPs (limitations of EEGs addressed through ERPs)

Answer 5

• are more specific with measurement of neural activity can be achieved which cant be with EEGs raw data
• as derived from EEGs have high temporal resolution
• ERPs are frequently used to measure cognitive functions and maintenance of working memory

Question 6

ERPs (lack of standardisation)

Answer 6

• differently methodolgies used in different studies so difficult to confirm findings
• in order to establish pure data in ERPs background noise and extraneous variables have to be eliminated
• not easy to achieve

Question 7

post mortem (provides foundation for key processes)

Answer 7

• broca and wernicke relied on post mortem to establish link between language brain and behaviour decades before neuroimaging available
• also used to study HMs brain to identify areas of damage which associated with memory deficits
• provide useful information

Question 8

post mortem (cant establish causation)

Answer 8

• damage could be related to other trauma and decay not related to what is being looked for
• also ethical issue of consent of individual before death so not provide informed consent
• eg HM lost memory unable to consent but brain still studied
• challenges post mortem research in research