Ways of studying the brain

Question 1

Describe fMRI.

Answer 1

fMRI – functional magnetic resonance
Measures blood oxygenation and flow when a person performs a specific task. The neurons that are most active during this task use the most oxygen. The fMRI detects oxygenated and deoxygenated changes and creates a dynamic (moving) activation map of the brain, highlighting which areas are involved in indifferent neural activities.

Examples: Localisation of function

Question 2

Evaluate fMRI.

Answer 2

+Non invasive
+High spatial resolution
-Poor temporal resolution
-Expensive

Question 3

Describe EEG.

Answer 3

electroencephalogram
Measures electrical activity through electrodes attached to a cap which is placed on the head. Small electrical changes are detected by the electrodes that are graphed over a period of time, indicating the level of activity in the brain.

Examples: Investigate stages of sleep

Question 4

Evaluate EEG.

Answer 4

+non- invasive
+ high temporal resolution
- poor spatial resolution
- information too generalised, cannot pinpoint specific neural activity.

Question 5

Describe ERP.

Answer 5

Event-related potentials.
Uses same equipment as EEG however the key difference is a stimulus is presented to a participant and the researcher looks for activity related to that stimulus. The average response (averaging) is used to display the brainwaves on the graph.

Example: Measure cognitive functions such as working memory

Question 6

Evaluate ERP.

Answer 6

+ non invasive
+High temporal resolution
- Poor spatial resolution
- Lack of standardisation - EV

Question 7

Describe postmortem examinations.

Answer 7

Study the physical brain of a person who displayed a particular behaviour while they were alive, that suggested possible brain damage. Comparisons are made with a neurotypical brain.

Examples: Tan

Question 8

Evaluate postmortem examinations.

Answer 8

+can tell us information about ‘abnormal’ brains

• causation is an issue
• Ethical issues – lack of informed consent