Ways of studying the brain
(1) post mortem examinations
• this is the analysis and examination of the brain following death - it looks for abnormalities and
neurotransmitter levels that may explain unusual behaviour
• Used to establish the underlying neurobiology of a particular behaviour
• Also used to establish a link between psychiatric disorders and underlying brain abnormalities e.g.
post mortem studies have found evidence of a reduced number of glial cells in the frontal cortex of
patients with depression
Strenghts: a strength of post mortem examinations is that they produce intricate data. They provide a
more detailed examination of the anatomical and neurochemical aspects of the brain. As a result, this
may lead to positive advantages in the real world. For example, Harrison (2000) claims that mortem
studies have played a central role in understanding the origins of schizophrenia
Weaknesses: post mortem examinations may be perceived as a constrained method:
• For example they produce retrospective data. This means that researchers are unable to follow up
any ndings that may arise thus limiting the extent of its application
• For example, various confounding variables may in uence and a ect the post mortem brain. As a
result, this may make it di cult to apply the ndings to living brains
(2) fMRIs
• Measures changes in brain activity whilst an individual performs a task - it does this by measuring
changes in blood ow in particular areas of the brain which indicates increased neural activity in
those areas
• Increased blood ow to a particular area indicates increased neural activity (there’s an increased
demand for oxygen and the brain responds to this by increasing blood ow to deliver more O2)
• Makes it possible to observe if speci c regions are active so can determine the function of certain
(1) post mortem examinations
• this is the analysis and examination of the brain following death - it looks for abnormalities and
neurotransmitter levels that may explain unusual behaviour
• Used to establish the underlying neurobiology of a particular behaviour
• Also used to establish a link between psychiatric disorders and underlying brain abnormalities e.g.
post mortem studies have found evidence of a reduced number of glial cells in the frontal cortex of
patients with depression
Strenghts: a strength of post mortem examinations is that they produce intricate data. They provide a
more detailed examination of the anatomical and neurochemical aspects of the brain. As a result, this
may lead to positive advantages in the real world. For example, Harrison (2000) claims that mortem
studies have played a central role in understanding the origins of schizophrenia
Weaknesses: post mortem examinations may be perceived as a constrained method:
• For example they produce retrospective data. This means that researchers are unable to follow up
any ndings that may arise thus limiting the extent of its application
• For example, various confounding variables may in uence and a ect the post mortem brain. As a
result, this may make it di cult to apply the ndings to living brains
(2) fMRIs
• Measures changes in brain activity whilst an individual performs a task - it does this by measuring
changes in blood ow in particular areas of the brain which indicates increased neural activity in
those areas
• Increased blood ow to a particular area indicates increased neural activity (there’s an increased
demand for oxygen and the brain responds to this by increasing blood ow to deliver more O2)
• Makes it possible to observe if speci c regions are active so can determine the function of certain
