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ways of studying the brain - Coggle Diagram
ways of studying the brain
post-mortem examinations
first type of brain examination
centuries
invasive
see where damage has occured
how it explains behaviour
sliced into thin sections
studied w/ microscope to find abnormalities
strengths
harrison
instrumental to understanding schizophrenia
structural/neurochemical abnormalities first discovered with this technique
detailed examination or anatomical parts of brain
not possible w/ uninvasive ways
accurately examine deeper regions of brain
weaknesses
issues w/ comparison of functioning before death
retrospective
may not tell how person was before death
e.g lifestyle/drug habit
cant follow up on abnormalities/ cognitive functioning
brain changes significantly after death
oxygen cut off changes shape/structure
findings lack accuracy
ERPs
similar to EEG but measures electrical activity in response to certain stimulus
records many presentations
average out responses to obtain action potential
used to investigate fast responses
strengths
measure reliability of self reported techniques
e.g when topic is sensitive/ can be impacted by social desirability bias
e.g drug misuse
directly measure neuronal activity
earliest implications of conscious cognitive processing
detects slightest changes due to environmental manipulation of stimuli
weaknesses
detects strong voltage changes across scalp
important electrical activity in deep regions isnt recorded
this method is limited to neocortex
output from machines needs to be interpretted
high level of expertise needed
EEGs
non invasive
recording of brain activity
small sensors attached to scalp
pick up electrical cells during brain cell messages
measure size frequency of electrical activity
associated w/ states e.g sleep
mainly used for epilepsy
strengths
cheap and easily accessible
used frequently
effective use in clinical practice
study sleep disorders/epilepsy
eplileptic seizures are due to disturbed brain activity
weaknesses
output from machines needs interpretation
high level of expertise needed
electrical activity can be picked up by many neighbouring electrodes
cant pinpoint exact source of activity
only useful for general activity levels
fMRIs
non invasive
strong magnetic/radio waves
monitor blood flow in brain
repeated scans every second
area of high activity=high blood oxygenation/flow
strengths
moving picture of brain activity
value in dynamic nature of brain
non-invasive
dont need to insert instruments
weaknesses
complexity of the brain
complex/problematic to interpret
delays time of scame
overlooks networked nature of brain
focused on localised activity
others suggest communication between different regions is more important to mental functioning