Ways of studying the brain Flashcards
What are post-mortem examinations used to establish?
The underlying neurobiology of a particular behaviour
What is an example of a researcher using post-mortem examinations?
Broca and his patient, Tan
What was wrong with Broca’s patient, Tan?
He displayed speech problems when alive
What was found to be the problem with Tan?
He had a lesion in the area know as ‘Broca’s area’ which is important for speech production
What is functional magnetic resonance imaging?
A technique used for measuring brain activity while a person performs a task
How does a fMRI measure brain activity?
Measures changed in blood flow in particular areas of the brain, which indicates increased neural activity in those areas
What is an electroencephalogram?
Measures electrical activity in the brain
How does a electroencephalogram measure electrical activity?
Electrodes are placed on the scalp and detect small electrical charges resulting from the activity of brain cells
What can EEG data be used to detect?
Various types of brain disorders
What are the four basic EEG patterns?
Alpha, Beta, Delta and theta waves
What is event related potentials?
Very small voltage changes in the brain that are triggered by specific events or stimuli
What are ERPs divided into?
Two categories
What are two strengths of fMRI scans
fMRI is noninvasive
Offers more objective and reliable measure of psychological processes than is possible
2 limitations of fMRI
Not a diect measure of neural activity
Overlooks the networked nature of brain activity
Two strengths of EEGs?
+ Provides a recording of the brain’s activityt in real time
+ A useful clinical diagnosis
Two limitations of EEG
- EEG can only detect the activity in superficial regions of the brain
- Not a useful for pinpointing the exact source of an activity
Two strengths of ERP
Provides a continuous measure of processing in response to stimulus
Make is possible to monitor ‘covertly’ the processing of a particular stimulus
ERP limitations
- It takes many trials to gain meaningful data
- Only sufficient strong voltage changes generated across the scalp are recordable
Post-mortem examinations strengths
+ Allow for more detailed examinations of anatomical and neurochemical aspects of the brain
+ Harrison (2000) claims post-mortem studies have played a central part in our understanding of the origins of schizophrenia
Post-mortem examinations limitations
- The length of time between death and post-mortem
- Retrospective as the person is already dead
