Ways of Studying the Brain

• What have psychologists discovered about sleep and language disorders?

  Impressive discoveries about psychological phenomena
• Why are modern tools important for brain research?

  They enable significant discoveries in psychology
• What are spatial and temporal resolution in brain studies?

  • Spatial resolution: accuracy of brain structure location
  • Temporal resolution: accuracy of timing of brain activity
• What is the oldest method of studying the brain?

  Post-mortem dissection
• How are brains treated for post-mortem dissection?

  They are chemically fixed for precise cutting
• What types of brains are chosen for post-mortem studies?

  Brains of individuals with unusual behaviors
• What is Broca's area associated with?

  Language production and expressive aphasia
• Who made significant discoveries using post-mortem studies?

  Paul Broca
• What is a major advantage of post-mortem studies?

  High spatial resolution for microscopic detail
• What is a major disadvantage of post-mortem studies?

  No ability to see brain activity in action
• What does fMRI stand for?

  Functional magnetic resonance imaging
• What does fMRI detect in the brain?

  Blood flow variations between hemoglobin types
• How does fMRI display brain activity?

  Using colors to represent activation levels
• What is a major advantage of fMRI?

  Creates detailed spatial images of brain activity
• What is a disadvantage of fMRI regarding timing?

  It has a delay in detecting brain activity
• What is the cost comparison of EEG to fMRI?

  EEG is significantly cheaper than fMRI
• What does EEG measure?

  Electrical activity of the brain
• What are the limitations of EEG?

  Low spatial accuracy and only cortex activity
• What does ERP stand for?

  Event-related potentials
• How does ERP differ from EEG?

  ERP isolates responses to specific stimuli
• What do the peaks in ERP waveforms indicate?

  Timing of cognitive processes after stimuli
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of combining EEG and fMRI?

  Strengths:

  • EEG: excellent temporal resolution
  • fMRI: excellent spatial resolution

  
  

  Weaknesses:

  • EEG: poor spatial resolution
  • fMRI: poor temporal resolution
• What groundbreaking research was done in 2018 at the University of Washington?

  Connecting brains using EEG and computers
• What potential future application was suggested for brain-to-brain communication?

  Direct brain-to-brain computer-aided telepathy
• What is the significance of post-mortem dissection in understanding brain function?

  It provides insights into brain structure and behavior
• How do neurotypical brains contribute to post-mortem studies?

  They serve as a comparison for abnormal brains
• How does brain damage affect behavior?

  It can lead to observable behavioral differences
• Why is temporal resolution important in cognitive neuroscience?

  It helps identify timing of cognitive processes
• What medical disorders can EEG help diagnose?

  Disorders like epilepsy
• When was the EEG invented?

  In 1924
• How are brainwaves related to stages of sleep?

  Different waves indicate different sleep stages
• What do amplitude and frequency refer to in EEG readings?

  Amplitude: wave height; Frequency: wave closeness
• What is the process of statistical averaging in ERP studies?

  It removes electrical noise from brain activity
• What do the peaks in ERP waveforms indicate?

  They show timing of cognitive processes
• How is ERP used in cognitive neuroscience research?

  To study sensory and cognitive information processing