WAYS WE STUDY THE BRAIN

WAYS WE STUDY THE BRAIN:

THE "PHINEAS GAGE" STORY:

•  The story of the an American construction foreman who survived an accident where a large rod was completely driven through his head. Because of the accident, his personality was completely changed.

WHAT DOES THIS TELL US?

•  This tells us that different parts of the brain control different aspects of what makes us, us.

LESIONS:

•  Is the removal or the destruction of some parts of the brain

ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM:

•  "EEG"
•  A machine that detects brain waves through their electrical output.
•  It is mostly used in sleep research

COMPUTERIZED AXIAL TOMOGRAPHY: 

• "CAT" scan
• It is a 3D image of the brain 
• It could also tell us where tumors are in the brain but not whether they are dangerous or not.

MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING:

• "MRI"
•  It is the most detailed picture of the brain using a magnetic field to push electrons of the axis.
•  It take still pictures and then turns them into "movies" 

POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY:

• "PET" scan
•  It measures how much of a chemical the brain is using (usually sugar)

 FUNCTIONAL MRI:

• It is a combination of the PET and MRI scans