Ways Of Studying The Brain

Question 1

What are the 4 ways of studying the brain?

Answer 1

. Post-mortem examinations
. fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging)
. EEG (Electroencephalogram)
. ERP (Event-related potentials)

Question 2

Why are post-mortem examinations used?

Answer 2

To establish the underlying neurobiology of a particular behaviour

Question 3

Why might researchers examine post-mortem brains?

Answer 3

To match abnormalities with behavioural changes present compared to control individuals with neurotypical (healthy) brains

Question 4

Who is an early example of post-mortem examinations?

Answer 4

. Broca’s patient Tan
- damage to area of frontal lobe that interfered with speech production to the point that he could only say ‘Tan’, known as expressive aphasia
- locating the area of the brain that seems abnormal allowed researchers to propose the idea that damage to Broca’s area is linked to expressive/Broca’s aphasias

Question 5

How are post-mortem examinations carried out?

Answer 5

. Brains are precisely cut after a treatment to provide a firmer texture of the brain that is easier to examine
. Unique and unhealthy individuals brains’ are usually what are interested in

Question 6

What are other uses of post-mortem examinations?

Answer 6

. Establish link between psychiatric disorders and underlying abnormalities in the brain
Eg., Cotter et al (2011) used post-mortem examinations of depressed patients and found that they had a reduced number of glial cells in their frontal cortex

Question 7

What is spatial resolution in scanning techniques?a

Answer 7

The level of accuracy in identifying the exact location of where the brain has its highest activation or in what structure of the brain an abnormality is (how close you can get to the true exact location of the desired site of brain activity)

Question 8

What is temporal resolution in brain scanning techniques?

Answer 8

The accuracy of identifying the exact location of a brain activity within milliseconds (in a short amount of time)

Question 9

How are post-mortem examinations helpful as a foundation before scanning techniques?

Answer 9

Allowed hypotheses to be created on the role of the brain in behaviour that can then be tested using scanning techniques