Ways of Investigating the Brain

Question 1

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
=> what is it and how it works

Answer 1

Highlights active areas of the brain

• Detects changes in blood oxygenation + flow that occur due to neural activity
• Brain more active + uses more O2 and blood to area (haemodynamic response)
• Produces a 3D image show parts of brain that are active + must be invloved in certain mental processes

Question 2

(S) of fMRI - Risk free + high spatial resolution

Answer 2

• Unlike other scanning methods, it doesn’t rely on radiation
• Produces high res. image w/ detail to the mm

Suggests => fMRI can safely show how brain activity is localised

Question 3

(L) of fMRI - Expensive + poor temporal resolution

Answer 3

• fMRI is expensive compared to other methods
• Poor temporal resolution because of 5 sec lag between initial neural activity + image

Suggests - may not truly represent moment-to-moment brain activity

Question 4

Electroencephalogram (EEG)
=> what it is and how it works

Answer 4

Measures electrical activity in brain via electrodes using a skull cap

• Scan recording represents brainwave patterns generated from 1000s of neurons, showing overall brain activity
• Often used as a diagnostic tool e.g.unusual arrhythmic patterns may indicate abnormalities such as epilepsy, tumours etc.

Question 5

(S) of EEG - Practical Uses + High temporal resolution

Answer 5

• Contributed to understanding sleep stages
• Brain activity is recorded in 1 milli second

Shows => real world usefulness of method

Question 6

(L) of EEG - Info is generalised + source not pinpointed

Answer 6

• Produces generalised signal from 1000s of neurons - difficult to know source of neural activity

Therefore => EEG can’t distinguish activity of different but adjacent neurons

Question 7

Event-Related Potential (ERPs)
=> what it is and how it works

Answer 7

What is left when extraneous brain activity from EEG recording is filtered out

• Done using stats. technique, leaving only responses that relate to presentation of specific stimulus
• ERPs are types of brain waves triggered by particular events
• Research revealed there’s many different forms + how they link to cog. processes (perceptive attention)

Question 8

(S) of ERPs - Specificity + Good temporal Resolution

Answer 8

• Measure of neural processes more specific than EEGs
• Better temporal resolution than fMRI

Means => ERPs are frequently used in cognitive research

Question 9

(L) of ERPs - Lack of standardisation + background ‘noise’

Answer 9

• Difficult to confirm findings in studies
• ‘Noise’ must be completely eliminated

Thus => these issues are a problem as they are not easy to achieve

Question 10

Postmortem Examinations

Answer 10

Analysis of a brain following a person’s death

• Areas of brain are examined to establish likely cause of death or disease experienced while alive
• May also include comparison w/ neurotypical brain to assess extent of differences

Question 11

(S) of Postmortem exams - Localisation + Medical Research

Answer 11

• Broca’s and Wernicke’s relied on these studies
• Used to link HM’s memory deficits to brain damage

Means => postmortem exams produce useful information

Question 12

(L) of Postmortem exams - Knowing Causation + Ethics

Answer 12

• Observed damage may not be linked to deficits under review
• Raises ethical issues of consent to be studied after death

Challenges => its usefulness in psychological research