studying brain

• 🩸 define fMRI

  non-invasive technique that measures changes in blood oxygenation and flow in response to neural activity
• 🧲 method of fMRI

  • uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce 3D images
  • infers brain activity from blood flow
  • shows regions that are active during specific cognitive tasks
• ✅ fMRI

  • spatial resolution
  • non-invasive
  • insight into functional localisation
• ❌ fMRI

  • poor temporal resolution
  • only measures correlation
  • highly expensive
• 🎯 application of fMRI

  • used in research into language, memory, emotion and clinical disorders
  • pre-surgery to map critical brain areas
• ⚡️ define EEG

  placing electrodes on the scalp to record electrical activity produced by neuronal firing
• 🌊 what does an EEG produce?

  continuous record of brain wave patterns
• brainwaves detected by an EEG

  • alpha
  • beta
  • delta
• ✅ EEG

  • temporal resolution
  • non-invasive and cost-effective
  • useful in diagnosis
• ❌ EEG

  • spatial resolution
  • skull and scalp distort electrical signals
  • can't distinguish between activity
• 🎯 application of EEG

  • used in sleep, epilepsy and cognitive processing
  • understanding brain rhythms
• 🔸 define ERP

  specific brain responses to stimulus by averaging multiple trials
• 🧠 what do ERP's identify?

  cognitive processes
• types of ERPs

  • sensory
  • cognitive
• ✅ ERP

  • temporal resolution
  • non-invasive
  • can detect covert processing
• ❌ ERP

  • time-consuming
  • spatial resolution
  • background noise or muscle movement can interfere
• 🎯 application of ERPs

  • research on language processing, attentional bias and psychological disorders
• 🪦 define post-mortem exams

  analysis of person's brain after death
• when are post-mortems used?

  when a person displayed abnormal behaviour or symptoms
• what is the brain examined for by a post-mortem?

  • damage
  • structural abnormalities
  • differences in neurochemistry
• 🪜 procedure of post-mortem exam

  • brain is removed and preserved
  • dissected and analysed for unusual structure or pathology
  • compared to a neurotypical brain
• ✅ post-mortems

  • allows for detailed analysis
  • helps understand role of brain in rare disorders
  • breakthroughs in psychology and neurology
• ❌ post-mortems

  • can't establish causal relationships
  • retrospective
  • ethical concerns
• 🎯 application of post mortems

  • cases of aphasia, schizophrenia and alzheimer's
  • contributed to localisation