Discuss the use of
technology in
investigating cognitive
processes
Discuss the use of technology in
investigating cognitive processes
 This could be a short or long answer
question.
 You could be asked to write an essay
on cognitive processes or you could be
asked to discuss how technology is
used to investigate just one cognitive
process.
You already know a great deal
about brain scanning technology
How does it
work?
MRI
fMRI
PET
What is it
used for?
What are its
strengths?
What are its
limitattions?
Use the following website,
compare PET, MRI and fMRI scans.
In particular, look at the
hippocampus, amygdala and
the temporal lobes.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/
nova/assets/swf/1/mapping
-the-brain/mapping-thebrain.html
What we’ll be doing
 Mainly focusing on how technology can be used to
investigate memory.
What we’ll be doing
 Mainly focusing on how technology can be used to
investigate memory.
 What did Corkin discover once it became possible to scan
HM’s brain in an MRI scanner?
 What did Maguire et al (2000) find out about spatial
navigational memory with the aid of MRI scans?
 How did Mosconi et al (2005) use PET scans to detect
Alzheimer’s didease?
ALZHEIMERS DISEASE
 SO, WHAT EXACTLY IS ALZHEIMERS?
 Who does it affect?
 Can it be cured?
Ruby’s room
 Ruby Wax speaks to the wife of a man with Alzheimer’s
Disease.
PET scans
 Cast your mind back to the Biological Level of Analysis
 What is a PET scan?
 What is it used for ?
 How does it work?
 Visit this website for an overview of how brain imaging
is used in dementia research.
 http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_
info.php?categoryID=200299&documentID=311&pageNu
mber=3
ALzheimers
 Dr Lisa Mosconi (read p86)
 PET scans can detect brain tumours or memory disorders
like Alzheimer’s.
 It identifies cellular level metabolic changes in an organ
or tissue.
Alzheimer’s
 New technology has enabled PET scanning to pick up
abnormalities related to Alzheimer’s even before the
patient has realized that there is something wrong.
 New York University School of Medicine
 Developed a brain-scan-based computer programme
that quickly and accurately measures metabolic activity
in the hippocampus.
Alzheimer’s
 In the early stages of Alzheimer’s,
PET scans (in collaboration with the
computer programme) show that
there is a reduction in brain
metabolism in the hippocampus.
Alzheimer’s longitudinal study
 Mosconi and colleagues (2005)
 In a longitudinal study at NYU school of medicine
 53 normal, healthy participants (9-24 years)
 People with reduced metabolism in the hippocampus
were more likely to go on to develop Alzheimer’s
disease.
Make detailed notes on
the NYU study.
watch
 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/how-memoryworks.html
The history of HM
 Read the extract from Suzanne Corkin’s book Permanent
Present Tense
 And
http://scienceblogs.com/neurophilosophy/2009/12/13/
project-hm-phase-i/
 Create a timeline of HM’s life and death (for it is
ongoing) in terms of how technology has been used to
study his brain - and in doing so, understand how
memory works.
Maguire et al (200)
http://www.google.com.hk/imgres?imgurl=http://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/obf_im
ages/65/38/6da532f3fa68bba2e35ea7a0d106.jpg&imgrefurl=http://wellcomeimages.or
g/indexplus/image/C0019622.html&h=547&w=800&tbnid=MPwDu7k_5chusM:&zoom
=1&docid=0yaaU5bqTd6TQM&ei=U2zHVPGgFtD88QWMgoLoAg&tbm=isch&ved=0C
B8QMygDMAM
 Don’t forget to mention the issues that are involved in
using technology.
 E.g. overreliance, inaccuracy, ethics etc.