Uses magnets and radio waves to produce a picture of the structure of the brain by measuring hydrogen nuclei in body
MRI procedure
1. Person placed within a tube-like machine
2. Asked to keep still
3. Use of a magnetic field combined with pulses of radio wave energy
MRI brain scans
Show tumours, bleeding in the brain, nerve injury and other damage and problems
Allow researchers to learn about structural changes in the brain
MRI
Investigates changes in the grey matter in the brain
Draganski's study
Aimed to find if there would be structural changes in the brain in response to juggling
Used a mixed design with a sample of people who have had no prior experience with juggling
Independent variable were the people juggling and non-jugglers, dependent variable was if structural changes in the brain would occur
Sample divided into 2 groups, one juggled and the other did not
Jugglers practiced for 3 months, then 3 months of no practice
Non jugglers never practiced
3 MRI brain scans taken - before, 3 months in, and 6 months in
There were no differences in the participants before the experiment but there was an increase in grey matter in the mid-temporal area of the cortex in both hemispheres which is responsible for the coordination of movement
After 6 months differences decreased in the jugglers, but had more grey matter than from the first MRI scan
Grey matter
Grows with demands of environments and decreases with absence of stimulation
Learning and brain structure
There is a cause and effect relationship
Neuroplasticity
The neural basis of learning, shows the brain is moldable and increases in response to regular learning practices
MRI
Has high resolution to see changes in structural changes in the brain
Hippocampus and areas around
Play a critical role in converting memories of experiences from short term memory to long term memory, important in memory processing
MRI's are a useful way to determine how certain behaviors can be linked to the brain
