Ways Of Studying Brain A03

Question 1

FMRI

Answer 1

+ risk free, non-invasive + straightforward to use
+ offers an objective + reliable measure of psychological processes, useful way to produce psych info better than verbal reports

• machines are expensive to buy + maintain , require trained operations so research is expensive + difficult to org
• poor temporal resolution, 5 second time delay behind image on screen + initial firing of neural activity

Question 2

EEG

Answer 2

+ high temporal resolution, can accuracy detect brain activity at a resolution of a single millisecond
+ provides recording of brains activity in real-time rather than still image of passive brain, so researcher can accurately measure specific task with brain activity associated with it.

• signal is not useful for pinpointing exact source of neural activity - doesn’t allow researchers to distinguish between activities in diff locations
• can only detect activity in superficial regions of brain - cannot reveal what’s going on in deeper regions such as hippocampus

Question 3

ERP

Answer 3

+ provides continuous measure of processing in response to specific stim so makes it possible to determine how processing is affected by manipulationn
+ makes it possible to monitor covertly the processing of stim without requiring person to respond

• lack of standardisation in methodology used by diff research studies which makes it difficult to confirm findings
• to establish pure data, background nouse + extranours material must be completely eliminated + this may not always be possible to achieve

Question 4

PM

Answer 4

+ vital in providing foundation for early understanding of key processes in brain
+ allows for more detailed examination of brain than non invasive techniques

• causation is an issue, observed damage to brain may not be lined to deficits under review but to some other unrelated trauma
• issues with consent, patient may nit be able to provide informed consent e.g hm lost ability to form memories