BCIA Test Prep - The Neurofeedback Book -
Thompson and Thompson QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT ANSWERS
Thorndike Effect - Law of Effect - CORRECT ANSWERS - A positive reward for a behavior is
followed by an increase in the probability of that behavior recurring.
What systems do we measure in biofeedback? - CORRECT ANSWERS - Functioning of the
autonomic (i.e., sympathetic and parasympathetic) nervous system.
LORETA - CORRECT ANSWERS - Low resolution electro-magnetic tomography assessment.
- Mathematical process that looks at surface EEG information and infers what activity is
occurring in areas a little deeper in the cortex.
- Data appears to correlate very well with MRI findings, but LORETA is very sensitive to many
kinds of artifact.
Advantages/Disadvantages of EEG - CORRECT ANSWERS - Lacks spatial resolution of MRI
or PET
- But, has best temporal resolution (you can see what the brain is doing over time very
accurately)
- EEG is noninvasive, while other mapping techniques often involve injections of radioactive
material.
Phase and Amplitude Changes - CORRECT ANSWERS Example: Two active sites in phase
(i.e., both rising and falling together)
- If first wave amplitude is +6 and the second wave amplitude is +4, the EEG amplitude will be 2
(i.e., 6-4)
Example: Two active sites NOT in phase (i.e., rising and falling at opposite times)
, - If first wave amplitude is +6 and the second wave amplitude is -4, the EEG amplitude will be 10
[i.e., 6 - (-4)]
- So, EEG amplitude changes can occur by changes in amplitude at either active or by a change
in phase of similar wave forms at the two sites.
- Lubar notes that, while it is harder to interpret what is causing the change, it also gives the
brain more ways of learning the task.
Event-Related Potentials (ERP) - CORRECT ANSWERS - A measure of brain electrical
activity that occurs as a response to a specific stimulus (different from an EEG, which is a
measurement of spontaneous and ongoing activity in the brain).
- ERP are time-locked, or show a stable time relationship to actual or anticipated stimuli.
- Example: Audiologists test hearing by measuring ERPs in response to a sound (ERPs should
come at a set time after the sound, and should be the same waveform).
Event-Related Desynchronization (ERD) - CORRECT ANSWERS - Increased cognitive or
sensitive workload results in a decrease in rhythmic, slow-wave activity, and an increase in
desynchronized beta activity.
- Once a task is done, there is post-reinforcement synchronization (PRS), where the brain
rewards itself with a burst of alpha after completing a task.
- However, people can also shift to alpha when they are overwhelmed, which could be
interpreted as the brain giving up.
Richard Caton - CORRECT ANSWERS - First person to record electrical activity in the brain
in 1875
Korbinian Brodmann - CORRECT ANSWERS - 1908 - He used meticulous dissections and
cell staining to examine the brain, the cortex, and the neocortex.
- Brodmann's Areas are still used to map the brain and its complex networks today.
Thompson and Thompson QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT ANSWERS
Thorndike Effect - Law of Effect - CORRECT ANSWERS - A positive reward for a behavior is
followed by an increase in the probability of that behavior recurring.
What systems do we measure in biofeedback? - CORRECT ANSWERS - Functioning of the
autonomic (i.e., sympathetic and parasympathetic) nervous system.
LORETA - CORRECT ANSWERS - Low resolution electro-magnetic tomography assessment.
- Mathematical process that looks at surface EEG information and infers what activity is
occurring in areas a little deeper in the cortex.
- Data appears to correlate very well with MRI findings, but LORETA is very sensitive to many
kinds of artifact.
Advantages/Disadvantages of EEG - CORRECT ANSWERS - Lacks spatial resolution of MRI
or PET
- But, has best temporal resolution (you can see what the brain is doing over time very
accurately)
- EEG is noninvasive, while other mapping techniques often involve injections of radioactive
material.
Phase and Amplitude Changes - CORRECT ANSWERS Example: Two active sites in phase
(i.e., both rising and falling together)
- If first wave amplitude is +6 and the second wave amplitude is +4, the EEG amplitude will be 2
(i.e., 6-4)
Example: Two active sites NOT in phase (i.e., rising and falling at opposite times)
, - If first wave amplitude is +6 and the second wave amplitude is -4, the EEG amplitude will be 10
[i.e., 6 - (-4)]
- So, EEG amplitude changes can occur by changes in amplitude at either active or by a change
in phase of similar wave forms at the two sites.
- Lubar notes that, while it is harder to interpret what is causing the change, it also gives the
brain more ways of learning the task.
Event-Related Potentials (ERP) - CORRECT ANSWERS - A measure of brain electrical
activity that occurs as a response to a specific stimulus (different from an EEG, which is a
measurement of spontaneous and ongoing activity in the brain).
- ERP are time-locked, or show a stable time relationship to actual or anticipated stimuli.
- Example: Audiologists test hearing by measuring ERPs in response to a sound (ERPs should
come at a set time after the sound, and should be the same waveform).
Event-Related Desynchronization (ERD) - CORRECT ANSWERS - Increased cognitive or
sensitive workload results in a decrease in rhythmic, slow-wave activity, and an increase in
desynchronized beta activity.
- Once a task is done, there is post-reinforcement synchronization (PRS), where the brain
rewards itself with a burst of alpha after completing a task.
- However, people can also shift to alpha when they are overwhelmed, which could be
interpreted as the brain giving up.
Richard Caton - CORRECT ANSWERS - First person to record electrical activity in the brain
in 1875
Korbinian Brodmann - CORRECT ANSWERS - 1908 - He used meticulous dissections and
cell staining to examine the brain, the cortex, and the neocortex.
- Brodmann's Areas are still used to map the brain and its complex networks today.
