ways of investigating the brain Flashcards
1
Q
what is fMRI?
A
- detects blood oxygenation due to brain activity in specific areas requiring more oxygen
- creates 3D image showing areas used
2
Q
Positive evaluation of fMRI?
A
- doesn’t rely on radiation so risk free and non invasive
- produces high spatial resolution image
3
Q
Negative evaluation of fMRI?
A
- expensive
- poor temporal resolution as 5 sec time lag means person has to stay totally still
4
Q
What is EEG?
A
- measures activity with electrodes on scalp
- shows brain activity of millions of neurons
- used for diagnosis of unusual patterns like epilepsy and tumours
5
Q
negative evaluation of EEG?
A
- can’t pinpoint exact source of neural activity so cant show location of activity
6
Q
Positive evaluation of EEG?
A
- invaluable in diagnosis of things like epilepsy as Random bursts of activity easily detected
- very high temporal resolution
7
Q
what is ERP?
A
- EEG shows all neural responses so ERP developed to isolate the responses
- stat averaging technique used to isolate extraneous activity from leg, leaving only the event related potentials
8
Q
positive evaluation of ERP?
A
- more specific measurement of neural processes than ERP
- very good temporal resolution
- wide spread use on measurement of cog function
9
Q
Negative evaluation of ERP?
A
- background materials like noise need to be eliminated which is difficult
10
Q
What is Post mortem examination?
A
- usually done on those with rare disorders - brain examined after death
- area of damage examined to establish likely cause of affliction (could be compared to normal brain)
11
Q
positive evaluation of post mortem?
A
- vital for early understanding of areas of the brain like Broca and wernicke decades before neuroimaging
- can also create hypothesis for further study
12
Q
negative evaluation of post mortem?
A
- observed damage to area may not be caused by deficit under review |(correlation not causation)
- ethical issue of consent - HM could remember consenting due to memory loss
