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Ways of studying the brain notes

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  • April 8, 2023
  • 3
  • 2022/2023
  • Other
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Ways of studying the brain



(1) post mortem examinations

• this is the analysis and examination of the brain following death - it looks for abnormalities and

neurotransmitter levels that may explain unusual behaviour

• Used to establish the underlying neurobiology of a particular behaviour

• Also used to establish a link between psychiatric disorders and underlying brain abnormalities e.g.

post mortem studies have found evidence of a reduced number of glial cells in the frontal cortex of

patients with depression



Strenghts: a strength of post mortem examinations is that they produce intricate data. They provide a

more detailed examination of the anatomical and neurochemical aspects of the brain. As a result, this

may lead to positive advantages in the real world. For example, Harrison (2000) claims that mortem

studies have played a central role in understanding the origins of schizophrenia



Weaknesses: post mortem examinations may be perceived as a constrained method:

• For example they produce retrospective data. This means that researchers are unable to follow up

any ndings that may arise thus limiting the extent of its application

• For example, various confounding variables may in uence and a ect the post mortem brain. As a

result, this may make it di cult to apply the ndings to living brains



(2) fMRIs

• Measures changes in brain activity whilst an individual performs a task - it does this by measuring

changes in blood ow in particular areas of the brain which indicates increased neural activity in

those areas

• Increased blood ow to a particular area indicates increased neural activity (there’s an increased

demand for oxygen and the brain responds to this by increasing blood ow to deliver more O2)

• Makes it possible to observe if speci c regions are active so can determine the function of certain

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