Ways of Studying the Brain (Biopsychology) Flashcards
What does an FMRI do?
Works by detecting blood oxygenation and flow within the brain
When an area is more active, the will be more blood within that area (haemodynamic response)
Can make comparisons between an area of interest in the brain and the activity the individual is tasked to do
What does an EEG do?
Measures electrical activity in the brain through electrodes placed on the head, this then produces brain wave data and is typically used to identify problems, such as epilepsy or issues surrounding the sleep cycle
What does an ERP do?
Used electrocuted fixed to the persons scalp to measure activity as a result of a stimulus introduced by the researcher
What does a post-mortem examination do?
Examines an individuals brain after they have died, in order to identify a cause and effect between brain structures and abnormalities in behaviour - using this, they were capable of identifying Broca’s area for speech
What does a post-mortem examination do?
Examines an individuals brain after they have died, in order to identify a cause and effect between brain structures and abnormalities in behaviour - using this, they were capable of identifying Broca’s area for speech
Evaluations - temporal resolution (how quickly changes are detected)
- FMRI has low temporal resolution, around 1-4 seconds
+ EEG and ERP has high temporal resolution, around 1 to 10 milliseconds
Evaluations - spatial resolution (how small of a feature the scanner can detect)
+ FMRI has high spatial resolution, 1-2mm detects small features
- EEG and ERP has low spatial resolution, very general not specific
Evaluations - cause and effect
- FMRI, post mortem and EEG have poor cause and effect, e.g abnormality in brain for port mortem does not directly link to abnormal behaviour, EEG is also very generalised as it has low spatial resolution meaning it can be challenging to pinpoint the cause for epilepsy
