Ways of Studying the Brain

• name the four ways of studying the brain

  fMRI

  EEG

  ERP

  Post mortem
• what does fMRI stand for?

  functional magentic resonance imaging
• what does EEG stand for?

  electroencephalogram
• what does ERP stand for?

  event related potentials
• fMRI

  • detects changes in oxygenated blood
  • uses magnetic field and radio waves
  • done whilst person is performing a task
• EEG

  • electrodes detect neuronal activtiy
  • shows electrical impulses of brain waves
• ERP

  • electrodes detect neuronal activity in response to a stimulus
  • stimulus can be sensory, cognitive or motor
• post mortem


  brain is cut and examined after death in an attempt to link behaviours to structural abnormalities in the brain
• what is an example of a post mortem?

  broca's research - patient tan
• strength of fMRI

  high spatial resolution
• limitation of fMRI

  poor temporal resolution --> 5 second lag
• strength of EEG

  high temporal resolution
• limitation of EEG

  cannot pinpoint exact location of brain activity
• strength of ERP

  cheaper so more widely used in research
• limitation of ERP

  background noise must be eliminated --> cannot always easily be achieved
• strength of post mortem

  fundamental in understanding brain function and localisation --> contributes towards the emergence of psychology as a science
• limitation of post mortem

  dead brain cannot be generalised to living brains --> is damage due to death or was it there before death?