Post-mortem examinations

What is a post-mortem examination?

Studying the physical brain o a person after their death, (particularly when they had unusual behaviour suggesting possible brain damage).

How did Broca use post-mortem examinations?

Broca examined brain of a man who had speech production difficulties GET NAME OF PATIENT, discovered lesion in a region of brain responsible for speech production - Broca’s area.

What did Wernicke discover thru post-mortem examinations?

Identified a region in left temporal lobe important for lang comprehension + processing - Wernicke’s area.

What did Iverson find thru post-modern examinations?

Examined deceased patients with schizophrenia brains + found a higher concentration of dopamine (in limbic system), compared w ppl w out schizophrenia.

Post-mortem A03: Strength 1:What is a strength of post-mortem examinations relating to detailed investigation?

Allow researchers to examine anatomical struc + neurochemical aspects of the brain in detail → info ab brain damage + chemical differences difficult to see in other techniques.

Strength 2: What is another strength of post-mortem examinations relating to deeper brain regions?

Researchers can examine deeper brain strucs e.g; hypothalamus + hippocampus - difficult to see w EEG, ERP + fMRI →useful info for further research in brain func etc.

Weakness 1: What is a weakness of post-mortem examinations

What is a weakness of post-mortem examinations relating to ethics?

Informed consent - some may not have provided consent before death, esp ones w severe psych disorders → can their brain can be used ethically 4 research?