PSYC 110 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Midbrain, Brainstem, Aphasia
Document Summary
Methods used for studying the human brain: observing behavioral deficits that occur when a part of the brain is destroyed or is temporarily inactivated, observing behavioral effects of artificially stimulating specific parts of the brain, recording changes in neural activity that occur in specific parts of the brain when a person or animal is engaged in a particular mental behavior task. Lesions can be produced in brains of rats or other animals by either electrical or chemical means: to produce a lesion electrically, a thin wire electrode (which is insulated everywhere except at its tip) is placed into the brain with the help of a stereotaxic instrument, and current is sent through the electrode to destroy the neurons adjacent to the tip, to produce a lesion chemically, a tiny tube called cannula is inserted into the brain and the chemicals inserted through the cannula destroy neurons whose cell bodies are located near the cannula"s tip.
