ways of studying the brain

what are the four ways of studying the brain (in order)

post-mortem examinations, EEGs, ERPs, fMRIs

how does an fMRI work

measures changes in oxygen levels in the brain as more oxygen is required when there is more activity

how does an EEG work

using electrodes fixed to participants scalp to detect neural activity beneath

how does an ERP work

using electrodes fixed to participants scalp to detect neural activity beneath as a response to a stimulus

how does a post mortem examination work

studying the brain after death to correlate structural abnormalities to behaviour changes

strength of fMRI’s

doesn’t rely on radiation, high spatial resolution

weakness of fMRI’s

expensive, poor temporal resolution with delay of 5 seconds

strength of EEG’s

useful in studying sleep stages to diagnose conditions, high temporal validity within a single millisecond

weakness of EEG’s

generalised nature of info received, poor spatial resolution

strength of ERP’s

good temporal resolution, more specific to measurement of neural process

weakness of ERP

methods lack standardisation, all background noises must be eliminated to obtain pure data

strength of post mortems

helped early understanding of brain functioning, Broca and Wernicke both relied on this method

weakness of post mortems

no causation provided, no informed consent