MRI
Why can you not wear metal in an MRI?
Because it's a giant magnet.
What does an fMRI measure?
The blood flow between neurons (or, the different areas of the brain that are activated during a particular task)
MRIs use magnetic fields and (....) waves.
Radio
What were two research methods that were commonly used to study the brain before the invention of fMRIs and MRIs?
Case studies and animal experimentation (invasive techniques)
What brain imaging machine did Perry use in his natural experiment on neglected children?
MRI
What do the scanned images from an MRI machine show?
The structure (i.e. size and shape) of a brain.
What is the major correlation that can be determined by the use of the fMRI machine?
The correlation (relationship) between a particular cognitive process or behaviour and an area of the brain that is associated with that process or behaviour.
What is the name of one other brain imaging technology commonly used?
PET (Positron Emission Tomography); CT
What is one limitation of using animal experimentation to study the brain?
It's difficult to generalize to humans; there are numerous ethical considerations to be factored into the research
Why did researchers perform an MRI scan on HM?
To see exactly what areas of his brain had been removed.
What differences exists in the brains of PTSD patients compared with healthy controls as shown in research using MRIs?
Their hippocampi are smaller
What differences exists in the brains of PTSD patients compared with healthy controls as shown in research using fMRIs?
Their amygdalae are more active (hyper-responsive)
Why are MRIs and fMRIs known as "non-invasive techniques"?
Because they don't require the brain to be cut open in order to study it.
What are two limitations of using case studies to study the brain?
Difficult to generalize as small sample size; can be time consuming; there are numerous ethical considerations; check your notes for other answers
Give 4 examples of studies that used MRI and fMRI.
MRI: Grafman et al. (1996) and Feinstein et al. (2011)
fMRI: Passamonti et al. (2012) and Radke et al. (2015)
What does MRI stand for?
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
What does the textbook mean when it says, the fMRI provides "more dynamic rather than static" information?
An fMRI can measure neurotransmission occuring in the brain as it happens, instead of only providing "snap-shot" type information like in an MRI. It is showing on-going activity, i.e. activity over a period of time.
What part of the monkey's brain did Weiskrantz lesion?
Amygdala
If Rosenzweig conducted his experiment now, what technology could he use to measure similar dependent variables?
MRI - it could show the differences in the structures of the brain based on the rats' different environments
Why can we not conclude that a small hippocampi is a cause of PTSD?
Because it may be a symptom - the scans are taken after PTSD is diagnosed, so there's no way to compare with before.
What does fMRI stand for?
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
What is one strength and one limitation of fMRI?
Strength: Don’t involve harming the participant in any way; a big limitation of PET and SPECT is the need to inject a radioactive substance and animal studies of course involve harming the animals irreversibly.
Limitation: fMRI studies may suffer from a lack of generalizability due to the artificiality of the environment and/or procedures used.
What does lesion and ablation stand for?
Lesion = damage
Ablation = removal
The results of Phelps' study showed that a higher activation in the ___________ was positively correlated with participants' higher scores in the ______________.
The higher activation in the amygdala was positively correlated with participants' higher scores in the IAT (Implicit Association Task), which reveals stronger implicit racial bias.