1. Methods used for studying brain development
Lecture #2
Methods used for studying brain development

2. Food for thought
How can you get inside someone’s brain without really getting “inside” their brain?
What would you do to study brain development?
What can we learn about brain from studying behavior (and vice versa)?

3. Outline
Methods used to measure brain development
Lesion studies

4. Outline
Methods used to measure brain development
Lesion studies
EEG

5. Outline Methods used to measure brain development Lesion studies EEG
ERP

6. Outline Methods used to measure brain development Lesion studies EEG
ERP
Imaging Studies

7. Outline Methods used to measure brain development Lesion studies EEG
ERP
Imaging Studies
Animal Studies

8. Outline Methods used to measure brain development Lesion studies EEG
ERP
Imaging Studies
Animal Studies
Neuropsychological Studies

9. Outline
What’s so great?

10. Outline
What’s so great?
What’s the problem?

11. Lesion Studies
Damage to a particular part of the brain can result in specific behavioral effects

12. Lesion Studies
Damage to a particular part of the brain can result in specific behavioral effects
Examples
Amygdala (emotion)

13. Lesion Studies
Damage to a particular part of the brain can result in specific behavioral effects
Examples
Amygdala (emotion)
Hippocampus (memory)

14. Lesion Studies
Damage to a particular part of the brain can result in specific behavioral effects
Examples
Amygdala (emotion)
Hippocampus (memory)
Visual cortex (blindsight)

15. Lesion Studies
Damage to a particular part of the brain can result in specific behavioral effects
Examples
Amygdala (emotion)
Hippocampus (memory)
Visual cortex (blindsight)
Parietal cortex (attention)

16. Lesion Studies
Damage to a particular part of the brain can result in specific behavioral effects
Examples
Amygdala (emotion)
Hippocampus (memory)
Visual cortex (blindsight)
Parietal cortex (attention)
Left hemisphere (language)

17. Lesion Studies
What’s so great?

18. Lesion Studies
What’s so great?
What’s the problem?

19. Electroencephalography (EEG)
Measures “brain waves”

20. Electroencephalography (EEG)
Measures “brain waves”
Gross measure of integrity of the brain as a system

21. Electroencephalography (EEG)
Measures “brain waves”
Gross measure of integrity of the brain as a system
Can be used as a very low level indicator (is this person alive)

22. Electroencephalography (EEG)
Measures “brain waves”
Gross measure of integrity of the brain as a system
Can be used as a very low level indicator (is this person alive)
Can also be used to measure behavior
Depression

23. Electroencephalography (EEG)
How does it work?

24. Electroencephalography (EEG)
How does it work?
Brains produce electricity

25. Electroencephalography (EEG)
How does it work?
Brains produce electricity
Neurons do their business basically by acting like wires

26. Electroencephalography (EEG)
How does it work?
Brains produce electricity
Neurons do their business basically by acting like wires
Electrodes placed on scalp record brain electrical activity

27. Electroencephalography (EEG)
How does it work?
Brains produce electricity
Neurons do their business basically by acting like wires
Electrodes placed on scalp record brain electrical activity
Measures include the amount of activity in particular frequency bands

28. Electroencephalography (EEG)
How does it work?
Brains produce electricity
Neurons do their business basically by acting like wires
Electrodes placed on scalp record brain electrical activity
Measures include the amount of activity in particular frequency bands
Power

29. Electroencephalography (EEG)
How does it work?
Brains produce electricity
Neurons do their business basically by acting like wires
Electrodes placed on scalp record brain electrical activity
Measures include the amount of activity in particular frequency bands
Power
Activation

30. Electroencephalography (EEG)
How does it work?
Brains produce electricity
Neurons do their business basically by acting like wires
Electrodes placed on scalp record brain electrical activity
Measures include the amount of activity in particular frequency bands
Power
Activation
Activation in a particular frequency range

31. EEG
What’s so great?

32. EEG
What’s so great?
What’s the problem?

33. Event – related Potentials (ERP)
Definition:

34. Event – related Potentials (ERP)
Definition:
Brain electrical activity that comes from simultaneous firing of synapses, and is related to a specific event.

35. Event – related Potentials (ERP)
Definition:
Brain electrical activity that comes from simultaneous firing of synapses, and is related to a specific event.
How do you measure them?

36. Event – related Potentials (ERP)
Definition:
Brain electrical activity that comes from simultaneous firing of synapses, and is related to a specific event.
How do you measure them?
Electrodes placed on the scalp record brain activity

37. Event – related Potentials (ERP)
Definition:
Brain electrical activity that comes from simultaneous firing of synapses, and is related to a specific event.
How do you measure them?
Electrodes placed on the scalp record brain activity
Activity is recorded in response to a specific discrete event.

38. Event – related Potentials (ERP)
Definition:
Brain electrical activity that comes from simultaneous firing of synapses, and is related to a specific event.
How do you measure them?
Electrodes placed on the scalp record brain activity
Activity is recorded in response to a specific discrete event.
Averaging over enough trials gets rid of the “noise” of the background EEG.

39. ERP (continued)
What do they look like?

40. ERP (continued) What do they look like? Components seen in infants
Nc Component

41. ERP (continued) What do they look like? Components seen in infants
Nc Component
PSW

42. ERP (continued) What do they look like? Components seen in infants
Nc Component
PSW
P300

43. ERP (continued) What do they look like? Components seen in infants
Nc Component
PSW
P300
Sensory Components

44. ERP (continued)
What do they look like?

45. ERP (continued) What do they look like? What can you learn from them?
Components seen in infants
Nc Component
PSW
P300
Sensory Components
What can you learn from them?
Examples
Language and early phonological development

46. ERP
What’s so great?

47. ERP
What’s so great?
What’s the problem?

48. Imaging
CAT Scans

49. Imaging
CAT Scans
Useful for describing overall brain structure

51. Imaging CAT Scans PET Scans
Useful for describing overall brain structure
PET Scans

52. Imaging CAT Scans PET Scans
Useful for describing overall brain structure
PET Scans
Good measure of blood flow in brain

53. Imaging CAT Scans PET Scans
Useful for describing overall brain structure
PET Scans
Good measure of blood flow in brain
Poor resolution

54. Imaging CAT Scans PET Scans
Useful for describing overall brain structure
PET Scans
Good measure of blood flow in brain
Poor resolution
Involves radiation

56. Imaging (continued)
MRI

57. Imaging (continued) MRI
Excellent resolution for structure of the brain

58. Imaging (continued) MRI
Excellent resolution for structure of the brain
Example - Myelin

61. Imaging (continued) MRI fMRI
Excellent resolution for structure of the brain
Example - Myelin
fMRI

62. Imaging (continued) MRI fMRI
Excellent resolution for structure of the brain
Example - Myelin
fMRI
Excellent resolution

63. Imaging (continued) MRI fMRI
Excellent resolution for structure of the brain
Example - Myelin
fMRI
Excellent resolution
Provides image of blood flow in the brain

64. Imaging (continued) MRI fMRI
Excellent resolution for structure of the brain
Example - Myelin
fMRI
Excellent resolution
Provides image of blood flow in the brain
Example - Working Memory

67. Imaging Studies
What’s so great?

68. Imaging Studies
What’s so great?
CAT Scan

69. Imaging Studies
What’s so great?
CAT Scan
PET Scan

70. Imaging Studies
What’s so great?
CAT Scan
PET Scan
MRI

71. Imaging Studies
What’s so great?
CAT Scan
PET Scan
MRI
fMRI

72. Imaging Studies
What’s so great?
What’s the problem?

73. Imaging Studies
What’s so great?
What’s the problem?
CAT Scan

74. Imaging Studies
What’s so great?
What’s the problem?
CAT Scan
PET Scan

75. Imaging Studies What’s so great? What’s the problem? CAT Scan PET Scan
MRI

76. Imaging Studies What’s so great? What’s the problem? CAT Scan PET Scan
MRI
fMRI

77. Animal Studies You can look directly at brain with animals
Whatever you want to look at
Do specific lesions

78. Animal Studies
What’s so great?

79. Animal Studies
What’s so great?
What’s the problem?

80. Neuropsychology
Behavioral method derived from lesion and animal studies

81. Neuropsychology
Behavioral method derived from lesion and animal studies
These behaviors are associated with parts of the brain from lesion, animal, or imaging studies

82. Neuropsychology
Behavioral method derived from lesion and animal studies
These behaviors are associated with parts of the brain from lesion, animal, or imaging studies
You can measure the function of the brain indirectly

83. Neuropsychology
Behavioral method derived from lesion and animal studies
These behaviors are associated with parts of the brain from lesion, animal, or imaging studies
You can measure the function of the brain indirectly
Example: Autism

84. Neuropsychological Studies
What’s so great?

85. Neuropsychological Studies
What’s so great?
What’s the problem?

86. All of the above?
There are advantages to combining these methods. What might these be?

87. All of the above?
There are advantages to combining these methods. What might these be?
Look at behavior to determine what you’re really measuring – converging measures

88. All of the above?
There are advantages to combining these methods. What might these be?
Look at behavior to determine what you’re really measuring – converging measures
What if an imaging study shows something different than lesion studies or animal studies always have?

89. All of the above?
There are advantages to combining these methods. What might these be?
Look at behavior to determine what you’re really measuring – converging measures
What if an imaging study shows something different than lesion studies or animal studies always have?
Complementary resolution advantages

90. Bring play-doh to class on Tuesday!!!