NeuroBeeno - Week 1

What is the difference between invasive and non-invasive?

Invasive involves entering the body. Non-invasive doesn’t even break the skin.

Define spatial resolution

How precisely a method can determine where something occurs in the brain.

Define temporal resolution

How precisely a method can determine when something occurs in the brain.

Which methods provide causal evidence rather than correlational?

Lesion studies, ABI studies, TMS, tDCS, cryogenic blocks, drug blocks.

What is rostal?

Towards the head

What is caudal?

Towards the tail

What is ipsilateral?

On the same side

What is contralateral?

Opposite sides

What is Bilateral?

Both sides

What is Unilateral?

One side only

What is proximal?

Close to main body mass

Distal

Far from main body mass.

What is the difference between sagittal, coronal/frontal, and transverse/horizontal planes?

Sagittal = divides left/right, coronal = divides front/back, transverse = divides top/bottom.

What is psychophysics?

The study of the relationship between physical stimuli and the sensations/perceptions they evoke.

What is the startle reflex and how is it used in research?

Blink reflex to sudden noise; amplitude increases when paired with a fear cue, measuring fear conditioning.

What is Electrodermal Activity (EDA) and what does it measure?

Temporary increase in skin conductance due to sympathetic activation; measures arousal/emotion.

Name other physiological measures besides startle and EDA.

Pupilometry, heart rate (HR/variability), muscle tension, polygraph.

What is an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI)?

Brain damage after birth (e.g., stroke, trauma, drugs, alcohol).

Who discovered Broca’s area and how?

Pierre Paul Broca; patient “Tan” could only say “tan,” autopsy revealed lesion in posterior inferior frontal gyrus.

What is a lesion study?

Removing or disabling a brain region to study behavioural effects.

What does tDCS do to neurons under anode vs. cathode?

Anode depolarises (↑ firing, improves behaviour); cathode hyperpolarises (↓ firing, hinders behaviour).

What is the Wada test used for?

To determine hemisphere lateralisation of functions like speech, before surgery.

What is a cryogenic block?

Cooling neurons to temporarily stop firing (reversible lesion, invasive).

What does TMS do?

Magnetic pulses stimulate or disrupt cortical activity; used to test necessity of brain regions.

Clinical uses of rTMS?

Depression, neuropathic pain.

What does MEG measure and what is its strength?

Magnetic fields from neural currents; very high temporal resolution, direct measure of activity.

What does EEG measure?

Summed electrical activity from the scalp (action potentials, postsynaptic potentials, etc.).

Name EEG frequency bands and their states.

Beta (16–31 Hz, focused), Alpha (8–12 Hz, relaxed), Delta (<4 Hz, deep sleep).

What are ERPs and what do N100, N200, P300, and P400 represent?

ime-locked EEG waveforms to events.

• N100/P100 → attention

• N200 → mismatch detection

• P300 → attended stimulus appears

• P400 → unexpected/surprise stimulus

How does PET work?

Inject radioactive tracer (e.g., 2-DG); accumulates in active regions; measures metabolism.

How does MRI work?

Hydrogen atoms align in strong magnetic field, perturbed by RF pulse, emit signal → structural image.

What is DTI used for?

Maps white matter tracts by measuring water diffusion along axons.

How does fMRI work?

Uses BOLD signal (oxy/deoxy hemoglobin ratio) as an indirect measure of neural activity.

Advantages of fMRI vs PET?

Better temporal & spatial resolution, no tracers, structural + functional imaging, safer.

Major limitation of fMRI?

Low temporal resolution, indirect measure, correlational not causal.

Which methods have high spatial but low temporal resolution?

MRI, DTI, fMRI.

Which methods have high temporal but low spatial resolution?

EEG, MEG.

Which methods are correlational only?

fMRI, EEG, MEG, PET, EDA, psychophysics.

Which methods provide causal evidence?

Lesions, ABI, TMS, tDCS, cryogenic/drug blocks.