AO3

• A strength of fMRI is

  -greater spatial resolution than other techniques

  -allows psychologists to discriminate between brain regions with greater accuracy
• Another strength of fMRI is

  -it is non invasive

  -does not use radiation and is mostly risk free

  -therefore more patients will undertake these scans so psychs can gather further data on brain and develop understanding of localisation of function
• a weakness of fmri is

  -poor temporal resolution

  -1/4 secs which is worse than other techniques

  -psychs are unable to predict with a high degree of accuracy the onset of brain activity
• Another weakness of fmRI is

  -do not provide direct measure of neural activity as they only measure changes in blood flow

  -cannot infer causation at a neural level
• What are some strengths of ERP and EEG'S

  -both non invasive

  -good temporal resolution

  -cheaper and more readily available more patients will uptake providing more data to psychs
• What is a disadvantage of erp and eegs

  -poor spatial resolution

  -cannot provide info on what is happening in the deeper regions of the brain
• Another disadvantage of eeg and erp

  -can be uncomfortable for patient as electrodes are attached to the scalp

  -readings may be unrepresentative as patients discomfort may be affecting cognitive responses to situations
• What are strengths of a post mortem examination

  -provide detailed examination of the anatomical structure and neurochemical aspects of the brain

  -provide researchers with an insight into these deeper brain regions and provide basis for further researchers
• One weakness of post mortem is that

  -ethical issues of informed consent
• Another weakness of post mortem is that

  -extraneous factors e.g age, length of time between death and post mortem examination are all confounding factors that can affect conclusions