PSYCH 2010 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Olfactory Bulb, Occipital Lobe, Ambiguous Image
25 Jan 2017
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Pg. 77-78 Looking at the brain and how they study it
• Lesioning- destroying a piece of the brain
o Inserting an electrode into a brain structure and passing a high frequency electric
current through it to burn the tissue and disable the structure
• Electrical stimulation of the brain (ESB)- sending a weak electric current into a brain structure to
simulate (activate) it
o Usually for animal use but sometimes is used on humans for surgery purposes
• CT scan- computer enhanced x-ray of brain structure
o Multiple x-rays are take fro differet agles ad the the’re oied to reate a
image of a horizontal slice of the brain
• MRI- uses magnetic fields, radio waves, computer enhancements to map out the structure
o Better than CT, produces 3D images that have a high resolution
• PET scans- brain and behavior relationship
o Radioactive markers to map chemical activity in brain over time
o Can tell what parts of the brain become active when certain activities happen
• fMRI- functional MRI
o monitor blood flow and oxygen consumption
Pg. 84-85 plasticity of the brain
• aspects of experience can sculpt features of the brain structure
o people demanded to do something (learn the streets of London, juggle, pass the Law
exam) showed structural changes in areas pertinent to those skills
• damage to incoming sensory pathways or the destruction of brain tissue can lead to neural
reorganization
o blind people have their occipital lobe re dedicate itself to verbal processing instead
• adult brain can generate new neurons
o previously thought that all neurons were formed in infancy at the latest
o can form new ones in the olfactory bulb and hippocampus
• brain is not completely hard wired but there are limitations
o rai’s plastiit delies with age
Pg. 99-101
People believe they are either right or left brained depending on their abilities which is not true because
both sides of the brain communicate with each other
Pg. 118-119 + feature analysis
• reversible figure- drawing that is compatible with two different interpretations that can shift
back and forth
o same visual input can result in radically different perceptions
• perceptual set- a readiness to perceive a stimulus in a particular way
• depends on what people decide to focus their attention on
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