ways of studying the brain

Question 1

spatial resolution

Answer 1

the smallest feature or measurement that a scanner can detect

Question 2

what is eeg

Answer 2

• egg scanners measure electrical activity through electrodes attached to the scalp

Question 3

strength of eeg

Answer 3

p- records brain activity in real time

e- means eeg has extremely high temporal resolution, so researchers can monitor responses to particular tasks

e- as a result, eeg has been helpful for clinically diagnosing conditions like epilepsy and for developing our understanding of the sleep stage

l- strengthens the case to use eegs as they have been an invaluable diagnostic tool for conditions e.g epilepsy

Question 4

weakness of egg

Answer 4

p- it can only detect activity near the surface of the brain regions

e- e.g it can’t reveal what is going on in the deeper regions of the brain like the hippocampus

e- also veg cannot pinpoint the exact source of activity as electrodes detect activity from overlapping areas in the brain

l- suggesting that egg may be useful for measuring superficial brain areas, it is ineffective when investing deeper brain regions

Question 5

what is fmri

Answer 5

• measures blood oxygenation and blood flow in the brain a person performance a task
• neurons in the brain that are the most active use of the energy

Question 6

strength of fmri

Answer 6

p- a strength fmri is spatial resolution

e- fmri scans have good spatial resolution, approxiametly 1-2mm which is significantly greater than the other techniques ( eeg erp)

e- additionally , psychology can determine activity of different brain regions with greater accuracy when using fmri

l- fmri is a great brain imaging techniques due to greater spatial resolution compared to other techniques

Question 7

weakness of fmri

Answer 7

p- fmri are that they are expensive can potentially be misinterpreted

e- fmri are expensive compared to the other methods and can only capture a clear image if the person stays still

e- it has poor temporal resolution as it has 5 seconds lag between initial neural activity and production of the image

l- means fmri may not truly represent the moment to moment brain activity and may have potential to be misinterepreted

Question 8

post Mortom examinations

Answer 8

• technique involving analysis of a persons brain following their death

0 likely that the person had a rare disorder/ displayed unusual behaviour while they were still alive

Question 9

strength of post mortem

Answer 9

P- A strength of post-mortems is that the brain tissue can be examined in detail.

E - This means that deeper structures can be investigated and also the tissue can be stored for re-examination at a future date, something which is not possible with any of the other methods.

E- Furthermore, post-mortems have provided the foundations for understanding the brain e.g. Broca relied on this method.

L - This strengthens the case to use post-mortem studies as they have improved our medical knowledge and helped psychologists generate further areas for study.

Question 10

weakness of post mortem

Answer 10

P -A limitation of post-mortems are that there are many potential confounding variables.

‘E - For example, the deficit a patient displays during their lifetime (e.g. an inability to speak) may not be linked to the deficits found in the brain (e.g. a damaged Broca’s area).

E- The deficits reported could have been the result of another illness, and therefore psychologists are unable to conclude that the deficit is caused by the damage found in the brain.

_ L - This suggests post-mortem studies may be limited as confounding variables may effect the ability to draw causation between brain areas and functions

Question 11

what does fmri stand for

Answer 11

functional magnet resonance imaging

Question 12

what does egg stand for

Answer 12

electroencephalogram

Question 13

what does erp stand for

Answer 13

event related potential

Question 14

event related potential

Answer 14

• uses similar equipment to eeg
• able to show specific response to a. particular stimulus

-extraneous brain activity is filtered out and what is left is the specific response to an event or task

Question 15

what is a haemodynamic response

Answer 15

• when brain becomes active, uses more oxygen , so there is increased blood flow to that area

Question 16

strengths of erp

Answer 16

p– A strength of ERPs is that it is a very specific measure of neural processes.

E – ERPs gather more specific data than can be obtained using raw EEG data as
they allow specific neural processes to be targeted/identified.

E – ERP also has an excellent temporal resolution, meaning results can be seen
immediately, usually milliseconds after recording.

L – This suggests ERP is more useful than EEG as it offers a more specific insight
into neural processes.

Question 17

limitation of erp

Answer 17

P – A weakness of ERPs is the lack of standardisation in methodology between
studies.

E – Different studies use slightly different methodologies which makes it difficult to
confirm findings in studies using ERPs.

E – It is also extremely difficult to completely eliminate all background noise and
extraneous material in an ERP.

L – This suggests ERP may be limited as background noise or differing methodologies
may skew results.