Ways of studying the brain AO3 Flashcards
(19 cards)
What is a strength of fMRI?
they are a much safer technique to measure brain activity than alternative methods
Why is fMRI a much safer technique?
It is non-invasive and doesn’t use radiation to identify differences in different brain areas unlike the use of PET scans which uses small amounts of radiation which can lead to potential harm
fMRI have higher spatial resolution than…
EEG and ERP which is an important feature of brain scans because it can accurately identify specific brain areas
fMRI’s depict detail by the…
milimetre and provide a clear image on how the brain is localised
The fMRI has poorer…
temporal resolution
Why does fMRI have poorer temporal resolution?
There is around a 5 second time lag between the image on the screen and the initial firing of neuronal activity
What is a strength of an EEG?
It is high in temporal resolution
Why are EEGs high in temporal resolution?
It enables the researcher to take a real time recording of brain activity rather than a still image of the brain, as is with the case of an fMRI and post mortem
What does EEGs being high in temporal resolution mean?
The researcher can gain a more accurate measure of general brain activity in a particular task. Therefore providing a greater insight into processes in the brain
What is a limitation of EEGs?
It is low in spatial resolution and can only provide information on general activity in the brain
What can’t EEGs pinpoint?
They cant pinpoint the exact source of neural activity that is involved in behaviour, unlike the use of ERPs which enable a researcher to identify specific brain activity in a particular task
What is a strength of ERPS
They have high temporal resolution especially when compared to an fMRI
ERPs can identify brain activity every…
milisecond so researchers can see brain activity in real time
ERPS have poorer…
spatial resolution than fMRI as they can only detect brain activity in general brain areas rather than identify the specific location of brain activity
What is a weakness of ERPs?
It can be hard to obtain meaningful data from the use of ERPs because they can be affected by external factors such as background noise so it can take many trials to obtain meaningful data
What is a strength of post mortems?
This is the only invasive way to study the brain which means that it is possible to get a more detailed examination of the brain that is not possible through scanning techniques
Post mortems mean that researchers have been able to study…
deeper areas of the brain such as the hypothalamus which has helped understand brain functioning in many different behaviours
What is a weakness of post mortems?
It is hard to establish cause and effect as there are many extreneous variables which cannot be easily controlled
What extreneous variables in post mortems cant be controlled?
How long a person has had a particular disorder, age at time of death or whether they have recieved drug treatment for their disorder
