Ways Of Studying The Brain

Question 1

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)

Answer 1

Detects changes in blood flow to show active areas (where more oxygen is consumed)

Question 2

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging strengths

Answer 2

+ Risk free
+ Non-invasive
+ High spatial resolution

Question 3

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging limitations

Answer 3

• Expensive
• Poor temporal resolution

Question 4

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

Answer 4

Measures brainwave patterns from thousands of neurons via electrodes

Question 5

Electroencephalogram strengths

Answer 5

+ Real world uses
+ High temporal resolution

Question 6

Electroencephalogram limitations

Answer 6

• Comes from 1000s of neurons, cant identify the source

Question 7

Event Related Potentials (ERP)

Answer 7

Types of brainwave triggered by particular events filtered out from EEG recordings

Question 8

Event-related potentials strengths

Answer 8

+ More specific than EEG
+ Higher temporal resolution than fMRI

Question 9

Event-related potentials limitations

Answer 9

• No standardised method
• Background ‘noise’ not easy to control

Question 10

Post-mortem examinations

Answer 10

Study of the brain after death, in order to link brain areas to observed behaviour deficits

Question 11

Post-mortem examinations strengths

Answer 11

+ Early research

Question 12

Post-mortem examinations limitations

Answer 12

• Causation is an issue
• Consent issues (case of HM)