3.4 Brain study summary

You’ve looked at a variety of methods for studying the brain in this section. Complete the following activity to recap what you’ve learned.

Activity 3 Summarising techniques

Allow about 15 minutes

For each technique covered in this section, fill in some basic details in the table. Which aspect of the brain does it study, and what is produced as the end result? Try to also include some aspect of how the technique works (a detailed explanation is not needed). One row has been completed as an example.

Table 1 Study of the brain

Technique Aspect Output How it works
Autopsy of damaged brains Functional regions of the brain Map of macroscopic brain regions and their principal functions Correlates functional impairments observed in patients with locations of damaged brain tissue
Light microscopy with staining
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Electron microscopy
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EEG – electroencephalography
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fMRI – functional magnetic resonance imaging
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TMS – transcranial magnetic stimulation
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Tracer molecules
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Answer

Don’t worry if your answers are expressed a little differently or have less detail.

Table 1 Study of the brain (completed)

Technique Aspect Output How it works
Autopsy of damaged brains Functional regions of the brain Map of macroscopic brain regions and their principal functions Correlates functional impairments observed in patients with locations of damaged brain tissue
Light microscopy with staining Neurons Magnified photographs or drawings of individual neurons and patterns of neurons Brain tissue is treated with chemicals to stain individual neurons
Electron microscopy Synapses Highly magnified images Uses a beam of electrons instead of light
EEG – electroencephalography Large scale changes in brain activity – brain waves Graph of brain activity fluctuations over time (electroencephalogram) Detects voltage changes using electrodes on the scalp
fMRI – functional magnetic resonance imaging Locations of brain activity Map of brain activity Detects changes in magnetic properties of the blood due to increased blood flow and oxygen
TMS – transcranial magnetic stimulation Functional locations in the brain Observed changes in patient behaviour Magnetic fields are used to stimulate or suppress neurons
Tracer molecules Connectivity between individual neurons Magnified image of specific neurons and locations of synapses Injected fluorescent tracer molecules travel along axons which are observed using a microscope

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