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Research methods - Coggle Diagram
Research methods
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Paul Broca - patient lost ability to speak, had damage in part of his left frontal cortex
additional patients with loss os speech also showed damage in and aorund that area, now known as Broca's area
but! few people have damage confined to just one brain area, and each person's pattern of brain damage is unique
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Brain stimulation
if damage impairs some behavior, stimulation should increase it
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EEG - Electroencephalograph records electrical activity of the brain through electrodes from outside the skull - ranges from just a few to a hundred, attached to the scalp
measure the average activity at any moment for the population of cells under the electrode. the output is amplified
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MRI - magnetic resonance imaging - based on the fact that any atom with an odd-numbered atomic weight such as hydrogen, has an axis of rotation. An MRI device applies a powerful magnetic field to align all the axes of rotation, and then tilts them with a brief radio frequency field
when the radio frequency is turned off, the atomic nuclei release electromagnetic energy as they relax and return to their original axis. by measuring the energy, MRI devices form an image of the brain
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TMS - Transcranial magnetic stimulation - the application of magnetic stimulation to a portion of the scalp can stimulate neurons in the area below the magnet, if the stimulation is sufficiently brief and mild
this procedure enables researchers to study behavior with some brain area active, then inactive and then active again
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MEG - Magnetoencephalograph - similar to EEG, but instead of measuring electrical activity, it measures the faint magnetic fields generated by brain activity
identifies the approximate location of activity to within about a cm; has excellent temporal resolution, showing changes from one millisecond to the next
CT or CAT scan - computerized axial tomography - injecting dye into the blood to increase contrast in the image, and then placing the person's head into a CT scanner. X-rays are passed through the head and recorded by detectors on the opposite side. The CT scanner is rotated slowly until a measurement has been taken at each angle over 180 degrees --> constructs images of the brain
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examine the effects of brain damage/of stimulating a brain area; record brain activity during behavior and correlate brain anatomy with behavior
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