Psych 101 - Lecture Notes [Section 1: Brain Imaging]

Intro to Psych	Perspectives	History & People
Epistemology	Bettelheim's Autism	Scientific Method & Experiments
Experimental Termonology	Neurotransmitters	Neurotransmission
Anatomy of the Brain	Split Brain	Brain Imaging
Neural Plasticity	Auditory System	Visual System

Section 1: Brain Imaging

Structural Imaging - Reports on Brain Anatomy

CT – Computerized axial Tomography. (Formerly know as CAT)
Uses x-rays of the brain -= a three dimensional x-ray of the brain..
Poor resolution
MRI – Magnetic Resonance Imaging
High resolution
Shows if there is any structural damage – or tumors, as well as the shape and relative size of objects/structures in the brain.
Recently – MRI has been able to look for specific elements in the brain – tracing a element that is correlated with cognitive activity, it can be observed how active a certain region of the brain is while a certain task is requested.
Program the MRI to look for a drug or metabolite of a drug, the search for the parts of the brain that the drug is concentrated in.

Functional Imaging - Reports Chemical and electrical activity

Psychologists are more interested in functional imaging rather than structural – because functional tells what’s happening

fMRI - Functional MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) (See MRI in next imaging section)determines brain activity by tracing the amount of specific substances which are used by the brain during cognitive processing.
MEG – (Magnetoencephalogram) – measures the magnetic fields in the brain. meausred by a SQUID – (Super Conducting Quantum Interference Device). This device needs to be super cooled superconducting temperatures. Electrons jump between 2 superconducting rings separated by an insulator, the more elecrons that tunnel from one ring to another, the stronger the magnetic field.
Resolution: Same as EEG
No Electrods are needed
EEG: One of the first devices devised – brainwave measurer. Electroencephalogram
Resolution high time resolution (presently low spatial resolution)
      Receptors are placed about an inch or so appart
      Responds to millisecond changes in brain activity.
      Electrods are attached to the scalp of the patient
PET – Positron Emissions Tomography - Uses a radioactive tracer for specific chemicals (typically radioactive glucose) – helping to determine which part of the brain takes up the most energy (glucose), thus taking up the most radioactive substance.
The location of the radioactivity indicates higher levels of brain activity.
The procdure uses radioactive tracers with a short half-life to minimize radioactive exposure

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