brain scans Flashcards
What is an fMRI ?
- records energy released by haemoglobin - active area = more oxygen - 1sec time difference (temporal resolution)
What are the STRENGTHS of fMRI’s ?
NON-INVASIVE - nothing is inserted into body - no brain exposure - more ethical OBJECTIVE - no verbal report t - not affected by researcher bias
What are the LIMITATIONS of fMRI’s ?
IMPRACTICAL - expensive - patient must be still for clear image - uncomfortable - temporal resolution
What is the full name of an fMRI ?
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
What is an EEG ?
- measures electrical activity in the brain - electrodes detect small electrical changes - shown on graph - used to show neurological abnormalities - epilepsy
What is the full name of an EEG ?
Electroencephalogram ELEC TROEN CEPH ALOGRAM
What are the STRENGTHS of an EEG ?
ACCURACY - real time NON-INVASIVE
What are the WEAKESSES of an EEG ?
NOT SPECIFIC ENOUGH - gives general overview - cannot pinpoint exact source of activity SURFACE MEASUREMENT - superficial regions of the brain - not very deep - limited in what we can study
What is an ERP ?
- more specific than EEG - uses statistical averaging techniques to filter put extraneous brain activity
What is the full name of an ERP ?
Event-related Potentials
What are the STRENGTHS of an ERP ?
ACCURACY - continuous measurement - able to determine how processing is affected by experimental manipulations DEMAND CHARACTERISTICS - response to stimuli is measured without individual giving a response
What are the WEAKNESSES of an ERP ?
SURFACE MEASUREMENT - only detects neural activity of a certain strength
What is a POST-MORTEM EXAMINATION ?
- see where damage has occurred - happen on people who had rare disorders - establish link between psychiatric disorders and brain abnormalities
What are the STRENGTHS of post-mortems ?
FULL ACCESS TO THE BRAIN - detailed / deeper area - hypothalamus / hippocampus
What are the WEAKNESSES of post-mortems ?
LACK OF CONTROL - confounding variables e.g. cause of death - influence results RETROSPECTIVE - issues with establishing causation - observed damage may not be a result of the suspected cause
