Ways of studying the brain Flashcards
What does fMRI stand for?
Functional magnetic resonance imaging
How does fMRI work in studying the brain?
Detects changes in both blood oxygenation and flow that occurs due to neural activity in specific brain areas
What does fMRI produce?
A 3D image showing which parts of the brain are active
What is one strength of fMRI?
High spatial resolution, which means showing lots of detail
What is a weakness of fMRI?
It has poor temporal resolution, 5 second lag between initial neural activity and image
What does EEG Stand for?
Electroencephalogram
What does an EEG measure?
measure overall brain activity, representing the brainwave patterns generated from neurones
What is an EEG usually used for?
Diagnosing unusual brain activity
eg, epilepsy or brain tumours
What is a strength of EEG?
It has high temporal resolution
What is a limitation of EEG?
EEGs only produce a generalised signal from thousands of neurones so it is difficult to know the exact source of neural activity
What does ERP stand for?
Event-related potentials
What do ERPs measure?
What is left when all extraneous brain activity from an EEG recording is filtered out.
How are ERPs conducted?
Using a statistical technique
Eg, leaving only responses that relate to presentation of a stimuli
What is a strength of ERPs?
ERPs have high specificity and high temporal resolution, making it good for cognitive research
What is a weakness of ERPs?
It is hard to eliminate extraneous material that has to be eliminated, meaning ERP aren’t easy to achieve
