studying the brain

Question 1

ways of studying the brain

Answer 1

• post-mortem examination
• fMRI
• EEG

Question 2

post-mortem examination

Answer 2

• when a person dies
• psychs look for abnormalities in the brain
  = may explain unusual behaviour from when they were alive
• post-mortem studies have found a link between brain abnormalities + psychiatric disorders
• e.g. reduced glial cells in frontal lobe = depression

Question 3

fMRI

Answer 3

• functional magnetic resonance imaging
• provides an INDIRECT measure of neural activity
• uses magnetic fields + radio waves to monitor blood flow in the brain
• measures the change in energy released by haemoglobin
  = reflects brain activity
  = gives a moving picture of the brain

Question 4

EEG

Answer 4

• electroencephalogram
• DIRECTLY measures GENERAL neural activity
• usually linked to states e.g. sleep + arousal
• electrodes placed on the scalp
  = to detect neural activity directly below where they’re placed
• EEG pattern produced = electrical signals are graphed over a period of time
• EEG patter: spikes of electrical activity = epilepsy
• EEG pattern: slowing of electrical activity = brain injury

Question 5

ad of post-mortem examination

Answer 5

• allows for more detailed examination of anatomic + neuro-chemical aspects of the brain
  = this wouldn’t be as possible w/ other methods of studying the brain
• this has enabled researchers to examine deeper regions e.g. the hippocampus + hypothalamus

Question 6

disads of post-mortem examination

Answer 6

• validity
• small sample

Question 7

validity - disad of post-mortem examination

Answer 7

• studies using PME may lack validity
• as people die in a variety of circumstances + at varying stages of disease
• similarly the length of time between death + PM + drug treatments
  = can all affect the brain

Question 8

small sample - disad of post-mortem examination

Answer 8

• PM studies have a very small sample sizes
• means sample cannot be said to be representative of the target population
  = problematic to generalise the findings to the wider population

Question 9

disads of fMRI

Answer 9

• complex
• expensive

Question 10

• ads of fMRI

Answer 10

• fMRIs have good spatial resolution
• fMRIs capture dynamic brain activity as opposed to a post-mortem exam
  (which purely shows physiology of brain)

Question 11

complex - disad of fMRI

Answer 11

• interpretation of fMRI is complex
  = affected by poor temporal resolution
  = by biased interpretation
  = and by the base line task used

Question 12

expensive - disad of fMRI

Answer 12

• fMRI is expensive
  = leads to reduced sample sizes
  = negatively impacts the validity of the research

Question 13

ads of EEG

Answer 13

• an EEG is useful in clinical diagnosis
• e.g. can record the neural activity w/ epilepsy
  = doctors can confirm the person is experiencing seizures
• EEGs are cheaper than fMRIs
  = used more widely in research

Question 14

disad of EEG

Answer 14

• EEGs have poor spatial resolution