A summary of lecture notes on the methods used in the world of neuroscience, along with practice questions to help students better understand and test their knowledge on the concept. Includes technological methods such as, fMRI, sfMRI, CAT, TMS, etc.
carefully designed experiments → mental processes involved in a task → behavioural dependent variables
🧠looks at the things you can control to gain a better understanding on brain activity/the
ental processes involved in a task
m
🧠basic bones: stimulus→processing the info→response
🧠
the framework allows for linking the brain to various cognitive functions through studying
the spots of activation during diff tasks
Neurophysiology:Single Cell Recordings
🧠a method that allows for listening in on the brain to understand individual neuronal
response
🧠
implantation of a singular electrode system to a spot in the brain
🧠
measure the how activated a neuron becomes when looking at something being shown
○ within the subject’s (usually a monkey) field of view place a fixation point
○ shine a light within the receptive field
🧠
involves an invasive brain surgery to implant the electrode
🧠
this process can also look at cognitive abilities [i.e. spatial working memory]
○ the process
■ place a monkey in front of a cue (two holes and onehas a treat)
■ cover both holes and close the door to the monkey’s cage (basically block the
monkey from seeing the covered holes)
■ open the door and wait for the monkey’s response
○ non-human primates are really good at this (^) task
○ why?
■ a way to measure frontal lobe activity in regards to short-term/working
memory (more specifically the maintenance of spatial location using working
memory
🧠
limitation(s)
○ only looks at a handful of neurons at a time
■ however it’s still a good way of getting a sense of neural activity
Neurophysiology:Lesion Studies
🧠
assessing the impacts of cognition from damage to a particular part of the brain
🧠
limitation(s)
○ not accurate
■ there can be a wide range of impact, meaning can’t accurately tell what part is
connected to what cognitive function
○ unable to surgically cause a lesion
■ have to wait for an individual that’s naturally already faced a damage to
specific brain areas
Cognitive Neuroimaging
🧠medical/clinical uses
○ identifying pathophysiology
■ aka identifying the cause for a neurological impairment (i.e. tumour)
, localizing anatomical and/or functional disruption(s)
○
🧠basic research/experimental uses
○ structural analyses
■ examining the topography of both healthy and impaired brains
○ functional analyses
■ examining the brain functioning of both healthy and impaired brains
■ how the brain works the way it does
Computerized Axial Tomography (CT)
🧠computerized= uses a computer axial= birds-eyeview of brain/body tomograph= image
of slice of body
○ overall, it’s a 3D x-ray
🧠
provides valuable info on tissue and allows for recreating imaging of the body using tissue
absorption rates
○ diff tissues absorbs radiation at diff rates
🧠
limitation(s)
○ doesn’t provide a clear or detailed image
○ exposure to radiation isn’t good for people
■ repeated testing is not advisable
Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (sMRI)
🧠structural= the body magnetic= powerful magnet resonance = bounce off signal imagery=
an image
🧠
uses a very powerful magnet instead of radiation
○ the more powerful the magnet = the more better the image
○ T = tesla
■ the strength of a magnetic field
🧠
protons in the body tend to follow the powerful magnetic field and line up
🧠
a pulse of radio frequency is sent out to knock the protons out of line
○ this is “resonance”
🧠
diff parts of the body have diff levels of resonance
🧠
has extremely good spatial resolution
🧠
allows for talking about the brain in terms ofvoxel
○ 3D measurement for brain area
○ voxel is the measurement used to quantify the size of a brain injury
🧠
allows for correlating brain structure/size with behaviour
○ i.e.hippocampal size is negatively correlated withseverity of PTSD(bigger hippocampus
= less PTSD severity)
🧠
allows for finding commonality among individuals with brain injuries and the functions
impaired
○ identifying consistencies can help in determining the specific functions of specific
brain structures
Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI)
🧠a structural technique that solely looks at white matter
○ this technique still uses an MRI machine
🧠
the process of this technique includes jostling the subject to get their fluid moving through
their body
○ the direction of water in the brain is then measured
■ water moves more readily with white matter pathways
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