ways of investigating brain

Question 1

fMRI

Answer 1

detects blood oxygenation levels in brain to detect brain activity in areas when doing a certain task
(haemodynamic response- brain comes more oxygen when active due to increased demand of bloodflow)
- produces 3D images to show which parts are involved

Question 2

EEG

Answer 2

measure electrical activity via electrodes fixed on scalp via skull cap
-scan represents brainwave patterns and overall brain activity
- used for diagnosis of unusual arrhythmic patterns of activity e.g epilepsy

Question 3

ERP

Answer 3

EEG results are isolated to find individual responses to stimuli
- statistical averaging techniques filter out extraneous brain activity
- different forms of ERP e.g attention + perception

Question 4

Post-mortem examinations

Answer 4

following death
usually for those with rare disorders/ unusual behaviour
areas of damage examined after death to establish cause of affliction
compared with neurotypical brain