BIOPSYCHOLOGY Flashcards
Evaluation of post mortems
+ Spatial resolution
+ Non invasive
+ Causation
- Ethical issues
Evaluation of FMRI
+ non invasive
+ good spatial resolution
- bad temporal resolution
- can’t prove causation
Evaluation of EEG
+ Non invasive
+ Good temporal resolution (records every millisecond)
- Poor spatial resolution (Can’t discriminate between areas)
- Physical uncomfortable
Evaluation of ERP
+ can determine effect of stimulus
+ Temporal resolution
- Physically uncomfortable
- poor spatial resolution
Evaluation of localisation of function
+ Research Support: Peterson et al
+ Case Study: Phineas Gage
+ Neurological evidence: Lobotomy
+ Measured Scientifically: EEG, PET and fMRI
- Research Against: Dronkers
+ Practical Application : Doctors need to know what areas do what
What happened to Phineas Gage?
explosion hurled the metre-length pole through Gage’s left cheek, passing behind his left eye, and exiting his skull from the top of his head taking a portion of his brain with it - most of his left frontal lobe.
What did they find with Gage ?
Gage is seen as a landmark case in science as the change in his temperament following the accident suggests that the frontal lobe may be responsible for regulating mood.
What did Peterson find?
Brain scans to demonstrate how Wernicke’s area was active during a listening task and Broca’s area was active during a reading task.
Why was Neurological survey used ?
The practice of surgically removing or destroying areas of the brain to control aspects of behaviour developed in the 1950s.
Neurological Survey ?
Walter Freeman who developed the lobotomy, were brutal and imprecise and typically involved severing connections in the frontal lobe in an attempt to control aggressive behaviour.
What did Dronkers et al find?
conducted an MRI scan on Tan’s brain, to try to confirm Broca’s findings. Although there was a lesion found in Broca’s area, they also found evidence to suggest other areas may have contributed to the failure in speech production
Evaluation of lateralisation
+ Scientific: Controlled (Sperry)
- Sample bias: 11 Participants (Sperry)
- Gazzaniga
+ Research support: Rogers et al
- Szaflarski et al
Gazzaniga (1998)
Suggests that some of the early discoveries from split-brain research have been disconfirmed by more recent discoveries
E.g. split brain research had suggested that the right hemisphere was unable to handle even the most rudimentary language. However, case studies have demonstrated that this was not necessarily the case.
what did Roger et al find?
found that in a domestic chicken, brain lateralisation is associated with an enhanced ability to perform two tasks simultaneously (finding food and being vigilant for predators). Using only one hemisphere to engage in a task leaves the other hemisphere free to engage in other functions.
What does Rogers research suggest?
suggests that the two hemispheres do exchange information with each other to complete task that could benefit
