bio-psych: ways of studying the brain Flashcards
What are 4 ways of studying the brain?
-fMRI
-EEG
-ERP
-Post mortem
What is an fMRI?
-detects neural activity
-specific parts of brain
-more active = consumes more O2
-3D images produced
What are the strengths of an fMRI?
-Doesn’t use radiation:
-less invasive
-risk-free
-straightforward to use
-HIGH SPATIAL resolution (more accurate picture on scan)
What are the limitations of an fMRI?
-POOR TEMPORAL resolution (5 second lag time)
-may not truly represent moment-to-moment brain activity
What is an EEG (electroencephalogram) ?
-measures electrical activity in the brain
-uses electrodes
-uses a skull cap
-records brainwave patterns
What are the strengths of an EEG?
-useful in studying stages of sleep
-useful in diagnosis (e.g epilepsy)
-HIGH TEMPORAL resolution (single millisecond)
What are the limitations of an EEG?
-shows overall brain activity BUT NOT in SPECIFIC areas
What is an ERP ?
-type of brainwave triggered by particular events
-different forms of ERP (cognitive processes, attention + perception)
What are the strengths of an ERP?
-HIGH TEMPORAL resolution compared to fMRIs
-used to measure cognitive functions
What are the limitations of an ERP?
-lack of standardisation in ERP methodology, hard to confirm findings
-pure data = background ‘noise’/ EVs must be eliminated
What is a post-mortem?
-Way of analysing the brain following someone’s death
-individuals’ who have post mortem = rare disorder/ cognitive processes
-compare to a neurotypical brain
What are the strengths of a post-mortem?
-post-mortem research provided foundation for early understanding of brain
-Broca + Wernicke = both relied on post-mortems = establish links between language and behaviour
-Patient HM = study areas of damage
What are the limitations of a post-mortem?
-difficult to establish causation
-damage may be caused by unrelated trauma/decay NOT deficits under review
-ethical issues = informed-consent, HM lost the ability to make new memories = unable to provide consent
