Techniques used to study the brain

Question 1

What is one technique used to study the brain

Answer 1

using the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner

Question 2

What does the fMRI measure

Answer 2

measures oxygenated blood flow in the brain. Oxygenated blood has a different resonance from blood that has already delivered its oxygen to the cells
— most active part receives the most oxygenated blood

Question 3

How does the fMRI measure this blood flow - what is produced?

Answer 3

using radio waves and magnets – it will then produce a 3- dimensional film of activity

Question 4

what does fMRI stand for

Answer 4

functional magnetic resonance imaging

Question 5

What is produced from an fMRI

Answer 5

computer turns images into 3D coloured film of brain activity

Question 6

what does the image consist of + what does it represent

Answer 6

mapped squared called voxels, each voxel represent thousands of neurons

Question 7

strengths of using fMRI (3)

Answer 7

• can be used to identify **problems with blood circulation **because it shows how blood flows in brain
• high resolution image of the brain created
• non - invasive (minimum harm to participants)

Question 8

weaknesses of using fMRI

Answer 8

• very expensive
• cannot establish cause and effect relationship
• movements effect image produced
• only shows structure of the brain, does not show activity

Question 9

Study

Answer 9

Maguire 2000

Question 10

Aim

Maguire (2000)

Answer 10

The researchers were looking to see if there was a relationship between the number of years of driving a taxi and the anatomy of one’s brain.

Question 11

background info

Answer 11

50 right handed male who did not drive taxis
have to have their license for at least 2.5 years
participants completed a “knowledge test”

Question 12

Two different ways MRI measured brain activity

Answer 12

1. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and pixel counting. Voxel-based morphology (VBM) was used in this study to measure the density of grey matter in the brain
   2.pixel counting

Question 13

findings

Maguire 2000

Answer 13

posterior hippocampi of taxi drivers were significantly larger relative to those of control subjects and the anterior hippocampi were significantly smaller.

Question 14

link

(Maguire)

Answer 14

this shows how the use of fMRI scanning can be used to investigate brain processes to find a correlation between environmental demands and the hippocampus