ways of investigating the brain Flashcards
give examples of the ways of studying the brain?
- FMRI
- electroencephalograms (EEG’s)
- Event-related Potentials (ERP’s)
- Post-mortem investigations (not scanning)
explain FMRI?
- detect changes in blood oxygenation and flow due to brain activity
- produces 3D images showing which part uses more oxygen= more active
evaluate positives of FMRI?
+unlike PET scans, doesn’t use any radiation
+easy
+images= high resolution, detail by the millimetre
evaluate negatives of FMRI?
- poor temporal resolution
- a second lag between activity and image
- only measures blood flow, not neuron activity
- expensive compared to others
explain EEG’s?
- measures activity in brain through electrodes fixed onto the scalp
- records brainwave patterns generated as 1000’s neurons fire electrical impulses that are picked up by electrodes
- indicates neurological abnormalities eg. epilepsy
evaluate positives of EEG’s?
+import for diagnosing conditions eg. epilepsy
+high temporal resolution of 1 millisecond
+contributed to understaning of phases involved in sleep
evaluate negatives of EEG’s?
- cannot pinpoint the source of activity
- produces very generalised info
explain ERP’s?
- ways of testing out and isolating specific neural responses associated with sensory, cognitive and motor events
- -use statistical averaging technique that filters out extraneous brain activity from original EEG recordings
evaluate positives of ERP’s?
+bring more specific than EEG’s raw data
+good temporal resolution compared to FMRI’s
+many different types of ERP’s and explain the role of them in cognitive functioning
evaluate negatives of ERP’s?
- lack of standardisation between different research= hard to confirm findings
- extraneous variables must be eliminated eg. background noise to get pure ERP data=hard to achieve
explain post-mortem investigations?
- analysis of persons brain when they are dead
- area’s of damage can be examined as a cause of affliction
- may involve comparison with a neurotypical brain
evaluate positives of post-mortem investigations?
+post-mortem vital in providing foundation for early understanding of key processes in the brain
+Broca relied on PM studies= established links between language and localisation
evaluate negatives of post-mortem investigations?
- causation is an issue= that damage doesn’t have to be the cause of death
- ethical issues of consent from patient before death
