Biopsych: Ways of studying the brain

Question 1

What are the 2 ways of studying the brain?

Answer 1

Scanning techniques
Post-mortem examinations

Question 2

What’s an fMRI?

Answer 2

detects changes in blood flow and oxygenated that occurs due to brain activity in specific areas. The more active the more oxygen consumed and the more blood flow to the area. Produces 3D images showing which parts of the brain are involved in particular mental processes.

Question 3

(+AO3) fMRI?

Answer 3

+ non-invasive and doesn’t expose the brain to potentially harmful radiation

+produces high resolution images (in millimetres) showing a clear detail of localised brain activity

Question 4

(-AO3) fMRI

Answer 4

-poor temporal resolution (5s lag time)

-expensive compared to other neuroimaging techniques

Question 5

What are EEGs?

Answer 5

measures electrical activity in brain via electrodes fixed to scalp using skull cap. Records brainwave patterns based on neurone action. Unusual patterns indicate neurological abnormalities e.g., epilepsy, tumours and sleep disorders.

Question 6

(+AO3) EEGs

Answer 6

+invaluable in diagnosis and understanding of sleep stages

+extremely high temporal resolution

Question 7

(-Ao3) EEGs

Answer 7

-very general info (generated from millions of neurones) so can’t pinpoint source of neural activity

-can’t reveal activity in deeper brain regions e.g. hypothalamus

Question 8

What are ERPs?

Answer 8

repeatedly present cognitive stimulus and recorded by EEG. Inconsistent neural activity is ignored. Activity consistently appearing must be due to specifically stimulus. Removing brainwaves can be presented as ERP’s.

Question 9

(+AO3) ERPs

Answer 9

+much more specific measurement of neural processes than raw EEG data (isolated neural responses due to stimulus).

+extremely good temporal resolution

Question 10

(-AO3) ERPs

Answer 10

-pure ERPs require all other stimulus to be eliminated e.g. background noise (difficult to achieve)

• requires many trials to obtain ‘consistent behaviour’ – difficult to distinguish from other electrical activity

Question 11

What are post-mortem examinations

Answer 11

dead individuals that had rare disorder/ behaviour that suggested brain damage. Post-mortem looks for abnormalities that explain the behaviour. An example, of Broca’s work – speech problem patients had damaged in common area of the brain which is now called the Broca’s area (speech production)

Question 12

(+AO3) post-mortem examinations

Answer 12

+Vital for early understanding of the brain (Broca’s and Wernicke).

+Allows access to deeper regions that non-invasive techniques can’t analyse.

Question 13

(-AO3) post-mortem examinations

Answer 13

-Causation – observed damage may not be linked to disorder/ behaviour displayed when alive.

-Ethics – informed consent (HM couldn’t provide it hit post-mortem still carried out)