Ways of Studying the Brain

• fMRI:

  :) safer

  > non-invasive and doesn't use radiation to identify differences in the brain area, unlike PET scans

  > more appropriate technique, which could reduce the risk of potential harm to individuals
• fMRI:

  :) higher spatial resolution

  > compared to EEG or ERP

  > can accurately identify specific brain areas involved in behaviour, providing a clear image of how the brain is localised

  :( poorer temporal resolution

  > 5 second time lag behind the image and the initial firing of neuronal activity - do not truly represent moment to moment brain activity
• EEG:

  :) high temporal resolution

  > enables researcher to take a real time recording of brain activity, rather than a still image (like an fMRI)

  > more accurate measure of brain activity in a particular task

  > provides greater insight into brain processes, such as activity during sleep

  > increases validity
• EEG:

  :( low spatial resolution

  > can only provide information on general activity in the brain

  > cannot pinpoint the exact source of neural activity involved in behaviour, unlike ERPs, which enable a researcher to identify specific brain activity in a particular task

  > findings may be less valuable
• ERPs:

  :) high temporal resolution

  > especially when compared to an fMRI

  > can identify brain activity every millisecond, so researchers can see brain activity in real time

  :( poor spatial resolution

  > can only detect activity in general brain areas, rather than identifying the specific location of brain activity
• ERPs:

  :( affected by external factors

  > for example, background noise

  > can take many trials to obtain meaningful data, as it is hard to control these other factors

  > limits the validity
• Post-Mortems:

  :) invasive

  > possible to get a more detailed examination than what would be possible through brain scanning techniques

  > has allowed researchers to study deeper areas of the brain, such as the hypothalamus, which has helped understanding of brain functioning in different behaviours
• Post-Mortems:

  :( hard to establish cause and effect

  > many confounding variables which cannot be easily controlled, such as how long a person has had a particular disorder, whether they received drug treatment and age at time of death

  > limits the internal validity and appropriateness