Ways of studying the brain

Researchers wanted to compare the use of different scanning techniques to identify brain functioning.

In the study, there were 40 participants who had experienced a recent brain injury. All of the participants had a CT scan and a PET scan of their brains.

The researchers recorded how many different areas of damage they identified using each scanning method.

Results are shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2 The total number of different areas of damage identified using CT and PET brain scans

Which is the correct ratio for the number of different areas of damage identified using CT scans compared to the number of different areas of damage identified using PET scans?

Shade one box.

The PET scans showed 50% more areas of damage than the CT scans did.

Write 50% as a fraction.

Calculate the mean number of areas of damage that were identified per participant when CT scans were used.

Show your workings.

Name the experimental design being used in the described study of scanning techniques.

Discuss why the researchers may have found the results they did.

Use your knowledge of CT scans and PET scans.

What is the median for the total anxiety scores for 30 days?

The following scatter diagram also shows the results found by the neuroscientist.

The possible locations of two of the participants’ results are shown by the letters A–F.

Identify the correct locations on the scatter diagram for the results of participant 002 and participant 010.

Shade two boxes.

Name the type of correlation the neuroscientist has found between language difficulties and anxiety levels.

When the neuroscientist saw the results, she claimed to have found the cause of anxiety in people who have had a stroke.

Explain why the results do not show that language difficulties cause anxiety.

Outline how neurological damage from a stroke or injury can affect motor abilities and behaviour.

Refer to localisation of function in the brain in your answer.

Tulving used PET scans to study possible connections between types of memory and brain activity. He concluded that different areas of the brain are active when we have semantic or episodic memories.

Evaluate Tulving’s ‘gold’ memory study.

Describe and evaluate Tulving's ‘gold’ memory study.

Describe how a PET scan is used to look at brain functioning.

Give a definition of cognitive neuroscience.

A neuropsychologist is trying to find out why a patient is suddenly experiencing difficulties moving one side of their body.

Use your knowledge of psychology to:

name which lobe of the brain the neuropsychologist should investigate and explain your answer

suggest a possible cause of the neurological damage that the patient seems to be experiencing.

Lobe of the brain and explanation

Name an appropriate scanning technique that the neuropsychologist could use as part of his investigation. Justify your answer.