Ways of studying the brain

• What does an fmri stand for?

  functional magnetic resonance imaging
• what does an fmri measure?

  blood flow to the brain
• How does an fMRI work?

  It detects changes in blood flow in the brain due to neural activity
• what does an fmri produce?

  Activation maps (3D images ) that show which parts of the brain were involved in a particular mental process
• how does an fmri know which brain area is more active?

  it consumes more oxygen and blood flow is directed to this area.
• What is spatial resolution?


  The ability to distinguish two separate objects close together
• what is temporal resolution?

  The ability to accurately locate structures or events at a specific time
• what is another strength of fmri's? (spatial resolution)

  P) high spatial resolution.

  
  

  E) spatial resolution of 1-2mm which is significantly greater than other techniques such as EEG's.

  
  

  T) greater special resolution allows psychologists to discriminate between different brain regions with greater accuracy.
• what is a strength of an fmri? (invasive or non-invasive?)

  P) non-invasive

  
  

  E) doesn't rely on radiation or inserting instruments directly into the brain

  
  

  T) virtually risk-free. this should allow more patients/ participants to undertake fMRI scans which could help psychologists to gather further data on the functioning human brain and therefore develop our understanding of localisation of function.
• what is a limitation of an fmri? (temporal resolution)


  P) poor temporal resolution

  
  

  E) temporal resolution of 1-4s which is worse than other techniques

  
  

  T) makes it difficult to accurately predict the onset of brain activity
• what is another limitation of an fmri? (causation)

  P) they don't provide a direct measure of neural activity

  
  

  E) they simply measure changes in blood flow and cant home in on the activity of individual neurons

  
  

  T) impossible to infer causation at a neutral level from an fmri
• What is an EEG?

  measures electrical impulses in the brain via electrodes using a skull cap.
• small electrical charges are detected by the electrodes that are _____


  graphed over a period of time, indicating the level of activity in the brain.
• what are EEG's used to diagnose?

  epilepsy and develop our understanding of sleep disorders
• what is a strength of EEG's? (invasive - or non-invasive?)

  non-invasive
• what is another strength of EEG's? (high temporal resolution)

  P) high temporal resolution

  
  

  E) can detect brain acitvity at a resolution of 1-10 miliseconds.

  
  

  T) leads to an accurate measurement of electrical activity when completing a task
• what is a limitation of eeg's? (lack of precision)

  P) lack of precision

  
  

  E) EEG's produce a generalised signal from thousands of neurons so its difficult to know the exact cause of neural activity

  
  

  T) difficult for researchers to make accurate conclusions abour brain activity
• What is an ERP?

  what is left when all extraneous brain activity from an EEG recording is filtered out.
• what does an ERP measure?


  types of brainwaves triggered by a particular event/stimulus
• how is an ERP conducted?

  using a statistical technique, leaving only those responses that relate to the presentation of a specific stimulus or performance of a certain task (for example)
• what has research found about ERPS?

  that there are many different forms of ERP and how these are linked to cognitive processes (e.g. perception and attention).
• what is a strength of an ERP? (temporal resolution)


  P) good temporal resolution

  
  

  E) takes readings every millisecond

  
  

  T) meaning it can record the brain's activity in real time as opposed to looking at a passive brain
• what is a weakness of ERP? (standardisation)


  lack of standardisation makes it difficult to confirm findings
• what is another weakness of ERP? (extraneous variables)


  in order to establish accurate data,extraneous variables must be completely eliminated which isn't always easy to do
• What is a post-mortem examination?

  The brain is analysed after death to determine whether certain observed behaviours during the patient's lifetime can be linked to abnormalities in the brain.
• what may a post-mortem examination also involve?

  comparison to a neurotypical brain in order to assess the extent of the difference
• what is a strength of post-mortem examination? (detailed examination)

  P) PM examinations provide a detailed examination of the anatomical structure and neurochemical aspects of the brain that is not possible with other scanning techniques (e.g. EEG, ERP and fMRI).​

  
  

  E) PM examinations can access areas like the hypothalamus and hippocampus, which other scanning techniques cannot, and therefore provide researchers with an insight into these deeper brain regions.​

  
  

  T) This can then be used as the basis for future research.
• what is a limitation of post-mortem examinations? (causation)


  P) The deficit a patient displays during their lifetime (e.g. an inability to speak) may not be linked to the deficits found in the brain (e.g. a damaged Broca's area). ​

  
  

  E) The deficits reported could have been the result of another illness.​

  
  

  T) Therefore psychologists are unable to conclude that the deficit is caused by the damage found in the brain during PM.