Ways of Studying the Brain

• fMRI's (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging):

  • detects changes in blood oxygenation + flow that occur as a result of neural (brain) activity in specific parts of the brain
  • when brain area is more active it consumes more oxygen + to meet this demand blood flow is directed to the active area (haemodynamic response)
  • fMRI's produce 3D images (activation maps) showing which parts of the brain are involved in particular mental processes -> important implications for our understanding of localisaton of function