ways of studying the brain

Question 1

what is fmri

Answer 1

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) - detects blood flow in the brain. As more active areas of the brain need more blood (containing oxygenated haemoglobin containing distinct magnetic properties) thee active areas can be compared to low activation areas with a lower blood supply and displayed on a fmri image

Question 2

what are the positives of using a fmri

Answer 2

fmri has good spatial resolution of approximately 2mm precisely identifying brain regions and patterns of activation over time while participants complete experimental conditions.
FMRI is non invasive and safe techniqe for experiments compared to options that use radiation like pet scans

Question 3

what are negatives of using fmri

Answer 3

poor temporal resolution as one image is taken every few seconds and delay in blood flow as one image is taken every few seconds and delay in blood flow after activity. Many brain processes are too fast to study.
Femur machines are expensive to build and operate also as the participant needs to be still, experiments with body movement are not possible

Question 4

What are EEG

Answer 4

The eeg device is collection of between 22-34 electrodes that are attached to a cap, and fitted perfectly to the scalp with conductive gel. The read out from electrode is the sum of total activation of the brain correct under the electrode. This is displayed as a series of lines showing distinct patterns called brain curves. Amplitude (size of waves) show brain wave intensity, frequency (distance between waves) show brain wave intensity, frequency (distance between each wave) show brain wave intensity, frequency (distance between each wave) show the speed of the activation.

Question 5

what are the positives of egg

Answer 5

+paticularly useful in investigating the characteristics of the different stages of sleep
+much higher temporal resolution than FMRI scans, and so more appropriate for the monitoring of ongoing cerebral states and activity.
useful in diagnosis of epillepsy

Question 6

what are the downsides of eegs

Answer 6

poor spatial activity as the pattern is a sum of a large number of neutrons in the cortex under the electrode.
it can also not detect activity deep in the brain

Question 7

what are ERPS

Answer 7

event related potentials use the same technique and equipment as EEG, but presents a stimulus many times, creating a smooth curve of activation by combing the data in a process could statistical averaging. this removes background electrical noise