RESEARCH TECHNIQUES IN BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY AND NEUROSCIENCE

Question 1

PRINCIPLES OF STEREOTAXIC TECHNIQUES

Answer 1

= an invasive procedure used to precisely target specific brain regions
= use 3D coordinates so that an investigator can place neurobiological probes and reagents in discrete brain regions

Question 2

VISUALISING THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

Answer 2

First steps = fixation, embedding and sectioning
= visualise brain structures using stains and dyes
= visualise neurotransmitters using immunohistochemistry - high spatial resolution and can be used to locate particular cell types and proteins

Question 3

TRACING ANATOMY

Answer 3

ANTEROGRADE TRACER = refers to transport from the cell body through the axon, to the presynaptic terminal

RETROGRADE TRACER = refers to transport from the presynaptic terminal to the cell body

Question 4

COMPUTERISED TOMOGRAPHY [CT]

Answer 4

= early CT called a CAT (axial view)
= CT provides no information about brain activity - same image from living or dead
= x-ray technology
= Must justify additional exposure to x-rays for research purposes
= cannot distinguish from dead brains

Question 5

POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY [PET]

Answer 5

= detect radioactive decay
= person being scanned must inhale radioactive tracers
= measures brain activity based on the utilisation of glucose and oxygen
= first technique to provide information about brain activity
= exposure to radioactive tracer - less resolution

Question 6

MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING [MRI + fMRI]

Answer 6

= powerful magnets to align hydrogen atoms into a magnetic field
= long process
= causes dizziness
= functional MRI [fMRI] produces an image faster, thus revealing brain activity
= uses magnetism and radio frequency waves to align hydrogen atoms
= high resolution
=increasingly stronger magnets may affect behaviour and safety

Question 7

ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL TECHNIQUES

Answer 7

Extracellular recording in vivo and the anaesthetised animal
Used to quantify the relationship between neuronal activity and behaviour

Question 8

ELECTRICAL BRAIN STIMULATION [EBS]

Answer 8

Intracranial self-stimulation technique [ICSS] where animals learn to deliver brief electrical pulses into specific regions of their own brains that are considered to be part of the brains reward pathways

Question 9

LESION APPROACHES

Answer 9

Irreversible methods - electrolytic
Reversible - cooling, agonists
Can tell us about the functional sites necessary for learning and memory
Reversible - allows particular brain area to be inactivated during a particular stage