Ways to study the brain

Question 1

What ways do psychologists examine the brain?

Answer 1

• Post-Morterm Examination
• Electroencephalogram (EEG)
• Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (FMRIs)

Question 2

What is a Post-Morterm Examination?

Answer 2

The brain is anaylised after death to determine whether behaviours observed when the person was alive can be linked to abnormalites in the brain

Question 3

Advantages of Post-Morterm Examinations:

Answer 3

• Bluit the foundation of modern neuropsychology; starting points for future research.
• Can have confirmation of brain damage in mircoscopic detail

Question 4

Disadvantages of Post-Morterm Examinations:

Answer 4

• Don’t know how the process of death can affect the brain stucture.
• Cannot look at brain activites
• Casuation is diffuclt to establish
• Raises ethical issues about informed consent, espically with people with brain damage.

Question 5

How is the Electroencephalogram (EEG) used to study the brain?

Answer 5

An EEG is used to measure the electoral activity in the brain. It aggreggates (adds up) the electrial activity between signly neurones which is too smal to detect on its own to produce overall patterns of activity from small regions in the brain.

Question 6

Advantages of EEGs

Answer 6

• Cost-effective- Is cheaper than equipment suchs as MRI.
• High temporal resolution (which is happening at the exact time isnt occuring, per millisecond)- can measure brain activity as it happens can meausre waves as you see behaVIOUR
• Non-Invasive and safe process (not injected with any substance, no expose to radiation).
• Pratical appilcations- Can reliably diagnose some conditions.

Question 7

Disadvantages of EEGs

Answer 7

• Low spatial resolution- Isn’t meausring for individual neurons just thousands of neurons aggregated in able to be detected (has low spatial resolution)- cannot pin point the exact area where the activity is coming from. Cannot be used to demostrate localisation of function.
• Only measures in the cortext of the brain.

Question 8

Advantages of ERPs

Answer 8

• Loophole for low spatial resolution as it can be used to pinpoint activity during specfic cognitive events
• High temporal resolution
• Non-invasive process

Question 9

Disadvantages of ERPs

Answer 9

• Not always possible to elimate all the background noise by calucating an average as it can be diffcut tin intepret data (someone could be thinking about something else)
• No standardised way of calucualting and measuring ERP

Question 10

What does FMRI stand for?

Answer 10

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Question 11

Advantages of FMRIs

Answer 11

• High spatial resoultion- Establish Localisation of function. Measuring at a celloural level.
• High resolution detailed images (up to millimetre).
• Helped to determine whether people in a coma have brain activity to detemine the chances of them survivivng the coma
• Risk-free non-invasive, no radiation

Question 12

Disadvantages FMRIs

Answer 12

• Expensive
• Will take a longer time 20 minutes-1 hour being perfectly still in a loud cosprophobic space. Not that suitable for younger children, with people with sensory issues or costrophobia.
• Less temporal resolution- Not as fast as EEG not as good as measuring changes in braina ctivity (5 second lag)
• Indirect meaurement of neuroal activity (blood flow is not electrial impuses in neurons)
• Only produce useful images if the person remains still