ways of studying the brain Flashcards
list the ways of studying the brain
1) post mortems
2) FMRI
3) EEG
4) ERP
what does FMRI stand for
functional magnetic resonance imaging
what does EEG stand for
electroencephalogram
what does ERP stand for
event related potentials
what is a post mortem
a way of studying the brains of individuals who exhibited certain psychological abnormalities prior to their death in an attempt ot establish possible neurobiological explanations for behaviour
Evaluate post mortems
1) allows for more detailed examination of anatomical aspects of the brain than would be possible with non-invasive techniques such as FMRI
2) limited as it is retrospective as they are already dead therefore nothing can be followed up on making it hard to establish relationships or cause and effect
what is a FMRI
a technique for measuring brain activity by detecting changes in blood oxygenation and flow which is increased with neuronal activity
as the brain becomes more active it requires more oxygen so blood flow increases in that area
evaluate FMRIs as a way of studying the brain
1) non-invasive, nor does it expose the brain to harmful radiations
2) offers an objective and reliable measure of psychological processes than possible with verbal reports
3) only measures blood flow not actual neuronal activity so is not truly a quantitative measure
what is an EEG
a method of recording electrical activity in the brain using electrodes attached to the scalp using four different EEG patterns; alpha, beta and theta waves
Outline the different EEG patterns and what they mean
1) alpha= when a person is awake but relaxed
2) beta= when a person is physiologically aroused or in REM sleep
2) Delta and Theta= occur during sleep
evaluate EEGs as a way of studying the brain
1) provides real-time recordings so a researcher can measure the activity of the brain accurately
2) can only measure superficial regions of the brain not deeper regions without being too invasive
3) electrodes can pick up activity from surrounding electrodes therefore it is hard to pinpoint the exact location of the activity
what is an ERP
a technique that takes multiple readings and averages them in order to filter out all unrelated brain activity that is not related to the appearance of the stimulus- extraneous neural activity will not be consistent
evaluate EPRs as a way of studying the brain
1) provide continuous measurement in response to a stimulus so it is easier to determine how processing is manipulated by changes to the IV
2) they are small and hard to pick put from other activity so requires a large number of trials for meaningful data
3) only records changes across the scalp so activity deeper in the brain isn’t recorded so data is restricted
