Ways of studying the brain

Question 1

What are the 4 ways of studying the brain?

Answer 1

1. Post mortem examinations
2. fMRI’s
3. EEG’s
4. ERPs

Question 2

What are post mortem examinations?

Answer 2

1. Researches study the physical brain of a person who displayed a particular behaviour whilst they were alive that suggested possible brain damage
2. Involves post mortem brain slicing

Question 3

What are 2 strengths of post mortem examinations?

Answer 3

1. Allow detailed explanations of anatomical aspects of the brain that is not possible with non invasive techniques
2. Researchers can accurately examine deeper regions of the brain and make potential links to behaviour
   - Harrison suggested the structural and neurochemical abnormalities linked to schizophrenia that were first identified using this method

Question 4

What are 2 weaknesses of post mortem examinations?

Answer 4

1. It’s a retrospective method, so may be hard to make comparisons with functioning before death
2. As soon as oxygen is cut off from the brain the shape and structure of the brain changes, meaning findings may lack accuracy- especially if there’s a time delay before analysis

Question 5

What are fMRI’s?

Answer 5

1. Uses strong magnetic/ radio waves to monitor blood flow in brain- areas of high activity show high levels of blood oxygen and blood flow
2. Involves brain slicing

Question 6

What are 2 strengths of fMRI’s?

Answer 6

1. Provides a moving picture of brain activity rather than the bland physiology of the brain- highly valuable when trying to link brain activity to key behaviours
2. Non invasive method and doesn’t expose the brain to potentially harmful radiation (ethical)

Question 7

What are 2 weaknesses of fMRI’s?

Answer 7

1. Complexity of brain activity means interpreting the scan is quite complex and problematic
2. Only focuses on localised activity of the brain, so may not identify important ways in which communication between different regions affects mental functioning

Question 8

What are EEG’s?

Answer 8

1. Detects electrical activity in the brain using small metal discs attached to the scalp and records brain activity
2. Measures amplitude and frequency of electrical activity in the brain and identifies patterns which may be associated with certain states

Question 9

What are 2 strengths of EEG’s?

Answer 9

1. Can be used effectively in clinical practice to study sleep disorders, identify disturbed brain activity, and help with diagnosis (epilepsy)
2. Cheaper than many other methods, so is used more extensively

Question 10

What are 2 weaknesses of EEG’s?

Answer 10

1. Output from machines needs to be interpreted and a high level of expertise is required to use this method effectively
2. Electrical activity can be picked up by several neighbouring electrodes, therefore the signal is not useful for pinpointing the exact source of activity and is only useful for showing general activity levels

Question 11

What are ERP’s?

Answer 11

Studies a specific pattern of electrical activity produced in the brain when a person is engaged in a cognitive act, such as discriminating 1 stimulus from another

Question 12

What are 2 strengths of ERP’s?

Answer 12

1. Useful to measure reliability of self reported techniques, especially when the topic being investigated is sensitive and likely to be affected by social desirability bias (drug misuse)
2. Can directly measure neuronal activity and give the earliest indication of conscious cognitive processing- this is because it can detect the slightest changes due to any environmental manipulation of stimuli

Question 13

What are 2 weaknesses of ERP’s?

Answer 13

1. Output from the machine needs to be interpreted and a high level of expertise is required to use this method effectively
2. Only detects strong voltage changes across the scalp and important electrical activity deep in the brain isn’t recorded, hence this method is limited to just the neocortex