Neuro Ch 1

electrical impulses, aka action potentials

emergent property of the neurons arrangement and connections and network

• chemical substance injected into a neuron,
• moves to adjacent neurons to map connection 
• *requires removal of the brain, have to be dead

• map neural connections in living patient
• mri sensitive to water diffusion in tissue

connection fibers that bundle together from region to region

• which kinds of brain activity are correlated with a specific function (not what is necessary)
• individual performs behaviour and make observations in brain activity

• electrode recordings directly from the brain have the best spatial and
• temporal resolution of any method

detect changes associated with blood flow and blood oxygenation and see which is more active

indirectly measures neural activity, localised changes in blood flow and oxygenation occur alongside changes in neural activity

finding statistical patterns while studying neural networks

• invasive implant put directly into the brain to record the electrical activity of individual neuron or groups of neurons
• high TR high SR

• distinguish between rapidly occurring events in the brain
• time between "snapshots"
• how much detail can be resolved per unit of time

best to worst: EEG & MEG, fMRI, PET

• helps identify where the activity originated
• how much detail can be resolved per unit of distance

best to worst: fMRI, PET, MEG, EEG

• used for epilepsy treatment
• electrodes implanted in brain to record brain activity and where brain activity originated 
• high TR high SR

• less invasive
• records electrical activity using external electrodes placed on the scalp
• high TR low SR

• non-invasive technique
• monitoring of magnetic fields generated by the electrical the activity of neurons, via sensitive magnetic detectors on the scalp
• high TR superior SR (than EEG)

• involves injecting small amounts of radioactively labelled chemicals into the body and mapping where they bind in the brain
• poor TR superior SR (than EEG and MEG)

high-contrast, high resolution images of biological tissues, based on subtle differences in the magnetic resonance properties of hydrogen nuclei in the tissues

• studies people with brain damage or disease or injury 
• if that area impairs behaviour, then suggests that region is necessary for that behaviour (e.g. Broca's area)

traumatic brain injury, tumour, epilepsy, stroke, infection, hypoxia, degenerative diease

• actively stimulate a given brain region or neural circuit and observe the effects on cognition and behavior
• TMS, tDCS

• noninvasive
• brief, powerful, focused magnetic field pulses to a target region of the brain using an external magnetic coil on the scalp
• can be used to elicit action potentials in neurons directly

• noninvasive 
• mild electrical currents via scalp electrodes
• research and therapy