Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
OF STUDYING THE
BRAIN IN PSYCHOLOGY
Kevin Brewer
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3
This document is produced under two principles:
orsettpsychologicalservices@phonecoop.coop
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Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 2
CONTENTS
Page Number
1. Introduction 5
4. Intervention Techniques 18
6.1. Electroencephalogram 47
6.2. Evoked potentials or
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 3
event-related potentials 47
6.3. Magnetoencephalography 48
6.4. Single unit recording 48
7. Computer Tomography/Neuorimaging 50
10. References 75
11. Appendix 83
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 4
1. INTRODUCTION
The brain has been studied in psychology using a
number of different methods over time and currently:
INVASIVE NON-INVASIVE
Animal studies Patients with brain damage
Artificial stimulation Tissue culture
Destruction Transcranial Magnetic
Post-mortems Stimulation (TMS)
Tomography
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 5
INTERVENTION NON-INTERVENTION
Animal studies Patients with brain damage
Artificial stimulation Post-mortems
Destruction Tissue culture
TMS Tomography
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 6
2. STUDYING THE BRAIN OUTSIDE THE BODY
One way to study the brain, and overcome the problem
of accessibility, is outside the body. This is done with
tissue or cell culture (live) and post-mortems (dead
tissue).
STRENGTHS
WEAKNESSES
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 7
Purkinje cells - green
2.2. POST-MORTEMS
STRENGTHS
WEAKNESSES
6. Dead tissue decays and dries out quickly even with a speedy
preservation process.
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 9
The best known examples of discoveries about the
brain using the post-mortem method with human brains
relate to Broca's and Wernicke's areas (figure 2). In
1861, Paul Broca (figure A appendix) reported the case of
"Tan" (box 1). This was a man who could only say "tan-
tan", but had a fuller understanding of speech (known now
as expressive aphasia). The post-mortem of "Tan" found
damage in the left frontal lobe in a region now known as
Broca's area.
Wernicke's area in the left temporal lobe is named
after Carl Wernicke who studied stroke patients able to
speak, but who had problems with language comprehension
(known now as receptive aphasia).
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 10
"Tan" was 51 years old when he died on 17th April, 1861
at Bicetre hospital in France, and he had lost his speech
before 21 years old (when first seen at the hospital). He
was also paralysed on the right side.
His intelligence was affected to "a great degree" "but he
maintained certainly more of it than was needed for
talking". He answered some questions with gestures, and
others not at all (even when the answer was obvious).
At the autopsy, the dura mater was found to be thickened and
vascularised, covered on the inside with a thick pseudo-membranous
layer; the pia mater thick, opaque, and adherent to the anterior
lobes particularly the left lobe. The frontal lobe of the left
hemisphere was soft over a great part of its extent; the convolutions
of the orbital region, although atrophied, preserved their shape;
most of the other frontal convolutions were entirely destroyed. The
result of this destruction of the cerebral substance was a large
cavity, capable of holding a chicken egg, and filled with serous
fluid. The softness had spread up to the ascending fold of the
parietal lobe, and down to the marginal fold of the temporal-
sphenoidal lobe; finally, in the depths, [it spread to] the region of
the insula and the extraventricular nucleus of the striate body; it
was the lesion of this last organ which was responsible for the
paralysis of the movement of the two limbs of the right side.
However, it suffices to cast a glance at this paper to recall that
the principal home and the original seat of the softness, is the
middle part of the frontal lobe of the left hemisphere; it is there
than one find the most extensive lesions -- the most advanced and the
oldest. The softness progressed very slowly to the adjoining parts
and one can regard it as certain that it was there for a very long
period. [p. 238] during which the illness did not affect the
convolutions of the frontal lobe. This period probably corresponds to
the eleven years that preceded the paralysis of the right arm, and
during which the patient had maintained his intelligence, having lost
nothing other than speech.
All this permits, however, the belief that, in the present case, the
lesion of the frontal lobe was the cause of the loss of speech (Broca
1861 pp237-8; translated by Christopher. D. Green 2003;
http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/index.htm).
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 11
3. STUDYING NON-HUMAN ANIMALS
Non-human animals can be studied in ways similar to
humans or in cases where it is not possible to study
humans. Often non-human animals are used where direct
intervention is required. Table 7 compares the methods
used to study the brain of human and non-human animals.
Post-mortems yes
STRENGTHS
WEAKNESSES
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 12
3. The ethics of inflicting pain and suffering upon animals in
experiments.
STRENGTHS
2. Both overt behaviour was observed (lever pressing) and the effect
upon the brain (post-mortem study).
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 13
WEAKNESSES
1. The effects of the operation upon the rats' brain (ie: damage
caused other than implanting the electrodes).
4. A small number of rats were used, and different areas of the brain
tested (eg: 4 rats had electrodes in septal area, one rat in
hippocampus).
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 14
rats caused stress, enough to affect the animals'
physiology, and this produced a major confounding
variable.
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 15
In a report for the British Union for the Abolition
of Vivisection (BUAV), Langley (2006) listed the types of
experiments used with primates for "fundamental
research". This is "knowledge-driven studies with no
foreseen medical relevance, to basic medical research
that might, in time, contribute to new ways of preventing
or treating human disease" (p84). This included brain
lesions, electrodes and probes to study vision, taste,
hearing and the brain of marmosets and macaques. The
reality of these experiments is suffering for the animals
(box 2).
Animals are sometimes deprived of food or water for many hours prior
to the experiments, to motivate them to perform visual tasks. During
recording or stimulating sessions, which can last for several hours a
day, animals are usually conscious and restrained in chairs by the
metal fixtures cemented to the skull. To avoid other animals
tampering with the implants, in some laboratories monkeys are kept in
solitary confinement for the duration of experiments which can last
for months or years.
Some monkeys are used and re-used in similar experiments for very
long periods of time. In the late 1980s, a monkey used at
Oxford University in taste research had had electrode implants in the
brain for five years, during which four experiments were
conducted. At the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium, some
monkeys had been kept instrumented in single caging for two years,
while being used and re-used in vision research.
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 16
STRENGTHS
Non-invasive.
Temporary "virtual lesion".
Use of humans to study humans.
Repeated measures design experiments possible (ie: same
individuals tested with and without TMS).
Avoids problems of brain surgery, including operation itself, side
effects, and functional re-organisation of the brain afterwards.
WEAKNESSES
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 17
4. INTERVENTION TECHNIQUES
These techniques involve interfering with the brain
in some way either through destruction or artificial
stimulation of a particular area.
i) Ablation
ii) Lesion
4.1.1. Psychosurgery
1
Picture at http://www.medicine.manchester.ac.uk/images/museum/full/warlinghamparkleucotome.jpg.
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 19
the 1930s;
Superficial evaluation of patients (ie: no standardised
testing of abilities);
Subjective evaluation of patients performed by himself
or "asylum physicians who were aware of the aims of the
procedure" (p31). Blind assessment of patients also not
standard procedure in 1930s;
Ignoring negative changes in personality, emotions, and
behaviour after the operation.
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 20
individuals had some form of psychosurgery between 1942-
54 in England and Wales (Tierney 2000). "Thus Moniz’s
innovative, ‘audacious’ procedure prematurely shed its
status as an experimental, very cautiously applied
operation, and entered a period of indiscriminate use and
unchecked expansion" (Tierney 2000 p33).
As Moniz received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or
Medicine in 1949 for his work, voices of dissent for
psychosurgery were being raised. An article in the "New
England Journal of Medicine" (Hoffman 1949) described the
post-operative patients as, among other things, "dull,
apathetic, listless, without drive or initiative.."
(p233; quoted in Tierney 2000 p33).
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 21
seems proportionate to the amount of tissue destroyed,
irrespective of the locus of injury" (p249). For example,
destruction of any 10% of the cortex produced over one
hundred errors during learning, 20% over two hundred, and
80% over 1000 errors. There was a correlation of 0.84
between amount of cortex destroyed and number of errors
during maze learning.
If the rats learned the maze, and then underwent
surgery, the memory loss was related again to extent of
damage not location. So "every part of the cortex plays a
part in learning and in retention" (p250). This has been
called the equipotentiality or mass action of neural
tissue.
iii) Suction
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 22
test for evaluation for surgery to treat epilepsy. This
test inactivates one cerebral hemisphere through
anaesthesia.
Five right-handed (left hemisphere language-
dominant) patients were shown pictures of morphed faces
(a combination of own face and a famous face) during the
anaesthesia of one hemisphere. After recovery from the
anaesthetic, the patients were asked between a picture of
their won face and the famous face as to which was shown.
All patients selected the "self" face after anaesthesia
of the left hemisphere and four of them chose the famous
face after anaesthesia of the right hemisphere. The key
finding for the researchers was the role of the right
hemisphere in self recognition.
WEAKNESSES
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 23
4.2. SPLIT-BRAIN PATIENTS
(Source: Gray's Anatomy of Human Body, 20th US ed, 1918; in public domain)
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 24
These individuals were studied, initially by Roger Sperry
who was joined by Michael Gazzaniga (Hock 2002). The
surgeons in California, Phillip Vogel and Joseph Borgen,
performed nine operations between 1962 and 1968, and more
operations have taken place in the USA, France and
Australia since then (Trevarthan 1987).
1. Visual test
2. Tactile test
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 25
3. Visual and tactile test
4. Auditory test
5. Drawing test
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 26
word "bow" was flashed to one eye, and "arrow" to the
other, the patient produced a bow and arrow drawings. But
"we finally determined that integration had actually
taken place on the paper, not in the brain". A patient
shown the word "sky" in one eye and "scraper" in the
other produced a drawing of the sky above a scraper, and
not a skyscraper which would have been integration as in
the normal brain.
However, the word "fire" followed by "arm", for
example, presented to the left eye produced a drawing of
a rifle from the patient. Thus each hemisphere is capable
of integrating information itself.
STRENGTHS
WEAKNESSES
3. It is not clear how much the epileptic seizures had damaged the
brain before the operation.
6. The idea of two separate brains in one head has been challenged.
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 27
4.3. ARTIFICIAL STIMULATION
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
1. The researcher is able to see 1. Most studies involve small
the exact effect of controlled samples which makes it difficult
stimulation. to prove that the precise effect
is the same for all.
2. It can be used with human and
non-human animals. 2. Stimulation, particularly with
drugs, can have more than one
3. Researchers are able to make effect. Thus it is difficult to
baseline measures before the interpret the results.
process begins which is not
possible with naturally occurring 3. Invasive.
changes.
4. Some processes can be
4. Chemical stimulation is a good irreversible.
way to study the biochemistry of
the brain. 5. The implanting of micro-
electrodes in the brain changes
5. It is possible to use with the brain (ie: it is no longer a
humans when the brain is operated "natural" brain).
upon for medical reasons.
i) Chemical stimulation
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 30
without sensation). The patient replied promptly,
'Nothing'" (Penfield 1959 p1720).
One patient, "J.V", reported the experience lasting
after the stimulation had stopped. The experience of
voices shouting lasted for fourteen seconds beyond the
two-second stimulation. While sometimes the experience
could disappear before the end of the stimulation
(Penfield and Perot 1963).
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 31
(Source: Open Research)
2
Photographs from original experiment at http://www.biotele.com/Delgado.htm.
3
This has led to modern developments in brain-computer interfaces (BCI)(Ohl and Scheich 2007).
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 32
iv) Trans-cranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 33
accordingly.
Many responders reject offers if they are not
perceived as fair (eg: below 25% of available money).
This goes against economic self interest which would
accept any offer as better than zero.
Acceptance rates for unfair offers in this
experiment were 10% at baseline. With right DLPFC TMS
this increased to 45%, but not with left side TMS. TMS
"switched off" the area of the brain, and the
participants were less able to resist the "economic
temptation" of the offers. The DLPFC (right side, in
particular) seems to be involved in over-riding "selfish
impulses". However, the participants still knew the offer
was unfair even with TMS and accepting it.
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 35
system will have its own 'when' pathway originating in
sensory cortex and taking a route through the parietal
and motor related cortices" (p124).
In understanding the "when" pathway in perception,
TMS studies are being used to confirm and develop
findings from intervention studies with non-human
primates, case studies of brain injured human patients,
and EEG studies (eg: VanRullen et al 2006)
(Source: Joint effort on English Wikipedia; last part: King of Hearts; in public
domain)
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 36
5. STUDYING NATURALLY OCCURRING BRAIN
DAMAGE
The aim here is to study naturally occurring brain
damage in order to gain clues about the healthy brain.
There is no manipulation of the brain by the researcher,
simply the study after the event. Acquired brain injury
is generally through injury (eg: closed head injury) or
illness (eg: stroke), and is studied by the case study
method.
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
1. Possible to follow the 1. Usually have multiple areas of
development of individuals with brain abnormality which limits
such brain abnormalities. the comparison of single area
damage to healthy controls.
2. Does not involve any
intervention to cause brain 2. Many individuals do not live
abnormality. very long, even to adolescence.
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 37
5.2.1. Phineas Gage
4
Details were also reported in Bigelow (1850a and 1850b), Harlow (1849, 1868, 1869), and
Anonymous (1851).
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 38
house.. says he knows more than half of those who
inquired after him. Does not estimate size or money
accurately, though he has memory as perfect as ever." He
returned home to his family at the end of November.
STRENGTHS
5. Freak accidents like this can highlight aspects of the brain not
considered at the time (eg: frontal cortex and self control).
WEAKNESSES
2. Because case studies like this depend upon accidents, there are
few details and measures from before the event. Experiments are able
to gain measures before and after the event.
7. Researchers may become involved with the case, and thus their
reports lack objectivity.
8. Case studies are often low on quantitative data, which are more
objective.
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 40
was reported in psychology and psychiatry textbooks. he
estimated that details appeared in 60% of such textbooks
published between 1983 and 1998, and, in many cases, with
errors. The errors related to seven elements of the
story:
PRE-ACCIDENT POST-ACCIDENT
"temperate habits" (Harlow "he was gross, profane,
1848) coarse, and vulgar, to such a
"possessing an iron will as degree that his society was
well as an iron frame" (Harlow intolerable to decent people"
1868) (Anonymous 1851)
"well-balanced mind.. very "The equilibrium or balance..
energetic and persistent in between his intellectual
executing all his plans of faculties and his animal
operation" (Harlow 1868) propensities, seems to have
been destroyed. He is fitful,
irreverent.. manifesting but
little deference for his
fellows" (Harlow 1868)
EEEE YYYY
E Y
EEEE YYYY
E Y
EEEE YYYY
Congruent Incongruent
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 42
The reaction time for the "same" condition was
2076ms compared to 2328ms for the "different" condition.
So it seemed that SE had unconscious recognition of
objects, and the problem was the conscious recognition of
them. This was confirmed when the last experiment was
repeated using scrambled drawings. Here there was no
difference in reaction times between the two conditions.
Some improvements in visual recognition abilities
were found when SE was tested nine months after the
stroke.
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 43
hippocampus, which is linked to memory 5.
After hospital he showed many symptoms of confusion,
not understanding speech, and repeating meaningless
phrases. He went through a phase of backward spelling and
talking. The world seemed to be continually changing for
him as he could not retain information for longer than
the briefest time. He showed epileptic and Parkinson's
symptoms like jerking and shaking. Confabulation is also
common.
5
A MRI scan in 1991 showed damage in the temporal lobe, especially the left, including almost
complete disappearance of the hippocampus (Wilson and Wearing 1995).
6
Clive reported auditory hallucinations in his diaries as a "master tape" ("what he thinks is a tape of
himself playing in the distance"; Wilson and Wearing 1995).
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 44
memories). His IQ was tested as 106 immediately after
hospital, and estimated as 120-140 pre-illness (Wilson
and Wearing 1995).
Before the illness, he was an accomplished musician,
and he still retains these ability - to sight-read music,
to play the piano and organ, sing and conduct a choir
(Sacks 2007).
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 45
Other tests used included the Graded Naming Test
(GNT)(McKenna and Warrington 1983) which tests naming of
thirty objects (eg: corkscrew, handcuffs) and thirty
proper names (eg: Hitler, Shakespeare) 7, and a semantic
memory test 8 (Hodges et al 1992) on which Clive was
similar to a moderate Alzheimer's sufferer)(table 19).
7
The logic behind this test was a case study of "GBL", who had stroke damage to the left hemisphere,
and showed perfect naming of objects, but poor naming of famous people (McKenna and Warrington
1980).
8
This tests knowledge with tasks that involve naming pictures (eg: birds), naming items described, and
matching words to pictures.
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 46
6. RECORDING ELECTRICAL ACTIVITY
6.1. ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM (EEG)
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 47
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
1. Measures electrical activity 1. Measuring whole brain's
of whole brain. electrical activity tells us
little about specific area
2. Ability to measure whole activity. This is overcome by
hemisphere activity. using the other techniques of
recording electrical activity.
3. Easier to perform than single
unit recording. 2. Only indirect measure of brain
activity because electrodes on
4. Non-invasive. scalp. Invasive techniques of
recording overcome this problem.
5. Both the waking and sleeping
brain can be studied.
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 48
and Wiesel (eg: 1959, 1962) who mapped the visual cortex
of a cat by recording visual activity in response to
different visual stimuli. They found different cells in
the cortex that responded to different line orientations.
The cerebral cortex is highly developed in mammals, and
may include over 100 000 neurons for each square
millimetre. The primary visual cortex (or striate cortex)
occupies the area at the back of the brain (occipital
lobe).
Hubel and Wiesel began their work in 1958, and the
first set of results were published a year later. Further
details were then reported in 1962. Alongside this work
on single cell recording, Hubel and Wiesel studied the
development of the visual system in kittens where one eye
was surgically closed (Hubel and Wiesel 1998).
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 49
7. COMPUTER TOMOGRAPHY/NEUROIMAGING
Brain scans can be used in a number of ways:
9
This is a database of medical and related academic research provided by the US Library of Medicine
and the Nationa Institutes of Health (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/).
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 50
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
1. Detailed picture of the living 1. Health risks with some
brain. techniques.
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 51
TECHNIQUE STRUCTURE OR MAIN ADVANTAGE MAIN DISADVANTAGE
FUNCTION
CAT S Detect damage in Health risks of X-
brain rays
PET F Shows active brain Health risk of
radioactivity
SPECT F More sensitive Shows activity over
than PET 60-second period
rather than moment
by moment (Eysenck
and Flanagan 2001)
MRI S Detailed picture Cannot show
of brain anatomy function
MRS F Shows brain's Requires very low
chemical compounds temperature to work
(ie: 4 degrees
above absolute
zero)
fMRI F Shows localised Need for patient to
brain activity be perfectly still
for long periods
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 52
ventricular size increased more often in the patients
than controls. In other words, the brain volume was
reduced. The type of treatment was found to play no role
either. These findings were constant over the length of
the illness suggesting it was not a product of the
disorder (Lewis 1996).
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ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 53
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 54
(Source: US Department of Health and Human Services; in public domain;
http://www.nia.nih.gov/Alzheimers/Resources/HighRes.htm)
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 55
the naive condition. In the third ("novel") condition,
new nouns were introduced and the brain activity returned
to the same as the naive condition. Brain activity is
different for new and learned tasks.
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 56
(Source: Washington irving; in public domain)
Task: Pick up on Grosvenor Square in Mayfair, drop off at Bank Underground Station, then at
the OvalCricket Ground.
"Grosvenor square, I’d leave that by Upper Grosvenor Street and turn left into Park Lane. I
would eh enter Hyde Park Corner, a one-way system and turn second left into Constitution
Hill. I’d enter Queen Victoria Memorial one-way system and eh leave by the Mall. Turn right
Birdcage Walk, sorry right Horse Guards Parade, left Birdcage Walk, left forward Great
George Street, forward into Parliament Square, forward Bridge Street. I would then go left into
the eh the Victoria Embankment, forward the Victoria Embankment under the Blackfriars
underpass and turn immediate left into Puddledock, right into Queen Victoria Street, left into
Friday Street, right into Queen Victoria Street eh and drop the passenger at the Bank
where I would then leave the Bank by Lombard Street, forward King William Street eh and
forward London Bridge. I would cross the River Thames and London Bridge and go forward
into Borough High Street. I would go down Borough High Street into Newington Causeway and
then I would reach the Elephant and Castle where I would go around the one-way system”
(Maguire et al 1997 p7106).
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 58
(Source: NASA; in public domain;
http://spaceresearch.nasa.gov/general_info/05feb_superconductor.html)
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 59
neurons are active. Increased neural activity means a
reduction in the concentration of deoxyhaemoglobin. In
practice, it is possible to localise neuronal activity.
It measures the "pooled neural responses across a
voxel (a three-dimensional volume element analogous to a
pixel in a two-dimensional digital image) or many voxels
that constitute a brain region" (Grill-Spector and Sayres
2008).
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 60
For example, Libet (1985) showed that electrical
activity in the brain ("readiness potential") occurs
500ms before an individual consciously chooses to do an
action. Individuals, wired to EEG sensors, were told to
pick up items when they wanted. If free will is nothing
more than this, than is an individual ever truly
responsible for their behaviour?
Responsibility
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
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the inference of unconscious racist attitudes.
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1. The gap between subjective experience and
electromagnetic signals.
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punished for having the potential to be dangerous. Though
we live in a society that is trying to pursue such ideas.
The ability to predict future behaviour is the holy grail
of psychology and psychiatry. Sometimes it is done well,
many other times done badly.
"The wide-spread misunderstanding of brain scans as
direct measures of psychological states or even traits,
however, carries the risk that courts, parole boards,
immigration services, insurance companies and others will
use these technologies prematurely" (Fuchs 2006 p601).
4. Technology as threatening.
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8. NEW AND MISCELLANEOUS TECHNIQUES
1. Computer Modelling
3. Reverse Engineering
4. Thought Experiments
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9. ISSUES AND DEBATES
9.1. MIND-BRAIN RELATIONSHIP
i) Interactionism
ii) Epiphenomenalism
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experiences are by-products of physical processes.
The mind or consciousness is "just a kind of
vaporous residue cast off by the brain, but is unable to
do anything on its own" (Searle 1999 p58).
Psychophysical Parallelism
i) Idealism/Mentalism
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structures of the mind (meanings) make sense of the
physical world.
Strength - As Materialism.
Weakness - As Materialism.
Both the mind and the brain are real, but they are
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aspects of a "fundamental underlying reality".
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ideas rather than being exhaustive.
1. Conscious
2. Unconscious
3. Pre-conscious
4. Outside consciousness
5. Automatic behaviours
6. Non-conscious
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For example, in the case of blindsight, individuals
with damage to the visual cortex report blindness, but
when asked to guess a position of an object in their
blindfield do so correctly. It is almost an "unconscious
seeing and a conscious blindness".
7. Unawareness
Non-Conscious
10
Another debate relates as to whether we have free will and conscious control over our behaviour .
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Non-Conscious Decision-Making
Central Executive
Methods and Issues of Studying the Brain in Psychology; Kevin Brewer; 2009
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that the brain had a centre, which he said was the pineal
gland.
Also early theories of the brain believed that a
"little man" (homunculus) sat inside and controlled
everything that happened (Dennett 1991).
In terms of cognitive processes, Norman and Shallice
(1986) developed the idea of a central executive that
controlled attention, memory, and willed actions 11.
11
Some implicit processing produces prefrontal cortex activity similar to explicit processing/conscious
awareness (Badgaiyan 2000).
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10. REFERENCES
Allen, E.A et al (2007) Transcranial magnetic stimulation elicits
coupled neural and hemodynamic consequences Science 317, 1918-1921
Barnard, N.D & Kaufman, S.R (1997) Animal research is wasteful and
misleading Scientific American February, 64-66
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ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 75
Brewer, K (2003) A synthesis model to explain aggression Orsett
Psychological Review 10, June, 10-18
(Freely available at
http://www.archive.org/details/OrsettPsychologicalReviewNo.10)
Carlson, N.R (1986) Physiology of Behaviour (3rd ed) Boston: Allyn &
Bacon
Eysenck, M.W & Flanagan, C (2001) Psychology for A2 Level Hove, East
Sussex: Psychology Press
Farwell, L & Smith, S.S (2001) Using brain MERMER testing to detect
concealed knowledge despite efforts to conceal Journal of Forensic Science
46, 1-9
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ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 76
Frangou, S & Williams, S.C.R (1996) Magnetic resonance spectroscopy in
psychiatry: Basic principles and applications British Medical Bulletin
July, 474-485
Gazzaniga, M.S (1967) The split brain in man Scientific American 217,
24-29
Gazzaniga, M.S (1985) The Social Brain New York: Basic Books
Gross, R.D (1992) Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behaviour (2nd
ed) London: Hodder & Stoughton
Harlow, J.M (1848) Passage of an iron rod through the head Boston
Medical and Surgical Journal 39, 20, 389-393
Harlow, J.M (1868) Recovery from the passage of an iron bar through
the head Publications of the Massachusetts Medical Society 2, 327-347
Harlow, J.M (1869) Recovery from the Passage of an Iron Bar Through
the Head Boston: Clapp
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ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 77
University Press
Hock, R.R (2002) Forty Studies That Changed Psychology (4th ed) Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall
Hubel, D.H & Wiesel, T.N (1959) Receptive fields of single neurons in
the cat's striate cortex Journal of Physiology 148, 574-591
Hubel, D.H & Wiesel, T.N (1998) Early exploration of the visual cortex
Neuron 20, 401-412
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ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 78
Langley, G et al (2007) Replacing animal experiments: Choices, chances
and challenges BioEssays 29, 918-926
Liao, B-Y & Zhang, J (2008) Null mutations in human and mouse
orthologs frequently result in different phenotypes Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences, USA 105, 19, 6987-6992
Marcus, S.J (2002) (ed) Neuroethics: Mapping the Field New York: Dana
Foundation
McKenna, P & Warrington, E.K (1983) The Graded Naming Test Windsor:
NFER-Nelson
Merton, P.A & Morton, H.B (1980) Stimulation of the cerebral cortex in
the intact human subject Nature 285, 227
Murphy, K & Naish, P (2004) Learning and memory. In SD226 Course Team
(eds) Learning and Language Milton Keynes: Open University
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ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 79
injury Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience 11, 2, 280-281
Ohl, F.W & Scheich, H (2007) Chips in your head Scientific American
Mind April/May, 65-69
Poldrack, R.A & Wagner, A.D (2008) The interface between neuroscience
and psychological science Current Directions in Psychological Science 17,
2, 61
Raichle, M.E (1994) Images of the mind: Studies with mind imaging
techniques Annual Review of Psychology 45, 333-356
Raichle, M.E (2003) Functional brain imaging and human brain function
Journal of Neuroscience 23, 10, 3959-3962
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ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 80
News 76, p6
Sadock, B.J & Sadock, V.A (2003) Kaplan and Sadock's Synopsis of
Psychiatry (9th ed) Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Secord, P.F & Backman, C.W (1964) Social Psychology New York:
McGrawHill
Singer, T et al (2004) Empathy for pain involves the affective but not
sensory components in pain Science 303, 1157-1161
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ISBN: 978-1-904542-48-3 81
VanRullen, R et al (2006) The continuous wagon wheel illusion is
associated with changes in electroencephalogram power at approximately 13Hz
Journal of Neuroscience 26, 502-507
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11. APPENDIX
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