Ways of studying the brain

Event Related Potentials (ERPs)
1. A technique that takes raw EEG data and uses it to investigate cognitive processes of a specific event. It achieves this by taking multiple regions and averaging them in order to filter out unrelated brain activity.
  1. STRENGTHS
    1. It is possible to determine how processing is affected by a specific experimental manipulation, e.g. during presentation of different stimuli.
    2. Can measure the processing of stimuli even in the absence of a behavioural response. The processing can be covertly measured without the person responding to the stimuli.
  2. LIMITATIONS
    1. ERPs are small and difficult to pick out from other electrical activity in the brain, so it requires a a large number of trials to gain meaningful data.
    2. Only sufficiently strong voltage changes generated across the scalp are recordable - restricted to the neocortex.
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
1. A technique used for measuring brain activity. It works by detecting changes in blood oxygenation and flow that indicate increased neural activity in a particular region of the brain.
  1. STRENGTHS
    1. Non-invasive - it does not expose the brain to potentially harmful radiation.
    2. Offers a more objective and reliable measure of psychological processes than verbal reports.
  2. LIMITATIONS
    1. Indirect measure of neural activity - it only measures the changes in blood flow in the brain not the actual activity.
    2. Overlooks the networked nature of brain activity, as it focuses only on localised activity.
Electroencephalogram (EEG)
1. A method of recording changes in the electrical activity of the brain using electrodes attached to the scalp.
  1. STRENGTHS
    1. Provides a recording of the brain in real time. This allows the researcher to accurately measure a particular task or activity with the brain activity associated with it.
    2. Useful in clinical diagnosis - we can determine if someone having seizures is suffering from epilepsy by recording abnormal neural activity associated with epilepsy.
  2. WEAKNESSES
    1. Cannot reveal what is going on in the deeper regions of the brain such as the hypothalamus or the hippocampus, as it is unethical to implant electrodes into a human brain.
    2. The EEG signal is not useful for pinpointing activity in the brain because electrical signal can be picked up by nearby electrodes. It doesnt allow researchers
Post Mortem Examinations
1. Ways of examining the brains of people who have shown psychological abnormalities prior to their death in an attempt to establish the possible neuarbiological cause for this behaviour.
  1. STRENGTHS
    1. Allow for a more detailed examination of anatomical and neurochemical aspects of the brain that wouldnt be possible using scanning techniques. Researchers can examine deeper regions of the brain.
    2. Harrison (2000) - Researchers have been able to find evidence of changes in neurotransmitter systems and structural abnormalities of the brain associated with schizophrenia.
  2. WEAKNESSES
    1. Retrospective approach - limited because the researcher is unable to follow up on anything that arises from the post-mortem concerning a possible relationship between brain abnormalities and cognitive functioning.
    2. Individual differences due to cause of death, age, progression of illness etc are all confounding variables to post-mortem research.

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Ways of studying the brain

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	Created by Danielle Richardson about 7 years ago