Biopsychology - Ways of Studying the brain

ways of studying the brain - explanations and evalations of pros and cons - Spec pt 6

What does fMRI stand for

Functional magnetic resonance imaging

What do fMRIs measure

oxygenated blood flow in the brain

what does oxygenated blood show

more active areas of the brain receive more oxygenated blood and has a different resonance in scans than deoxygenated blood

How is an fMRI performed

large magnets detect oxygenated hemoglobin blood flow.

blood flow equates to activity in the brain

computer transforms info into bright coloured 3D image to compare

What does EEG stand for

Electroencephalogram

how do EEGs work

electrodes on a cap are placed on the scalp with a conductive gel and measure the electrical activity of the cells bellow them

What kind of data is produced by EEGs

brain waves shown as a series of lines with distinct patterns. amplitude and frequency show brain activity

What kind of data is produced from fMRIs

computers turn the data into a brightly colored 3D image

What does ERP stand for

Event related potential

How are ERPs performed

the same technique as an EEG is used - but the background data is filtered out and leave only the specific data the researcher wants from after a stimulus interaction

What is the procedure for post mortem

the brain is removed after death and examined by cutting up into slices to notice any cause of behaviours or physical dysfunction

what is the strength of fMRIs

high spacial resolution

Give the two main weaknesses of fMRIs

low temporal resolution - takes 5-10 secs to give data

Very expensive to perform

Give the 3 main strengths of EEGs

Non-invasive

High temporal resolution

Relatively cheap compared to fMRI

Give two weaknesses of EEGs

Low spatial resolution - detects brain waves not their location

Takes long time to set up

Give the 2 main strengths of ERPs

Non-invasive

High temporal resolution - looks at specific point post-stimulus

Give the 3 main weaknesses of ERPs

Low Spatial resolution

Long time to set up and do

Background noise is hard to get rid of - may make results innacurate

Give the strength of Post-Mortems

Vital to understanding key processes in the brain

Give the 3 main weaknesses of post mortems

Very invasive

Hard to get consent before death

Low temporal resolution