Plasticity, Functional Recovery & Ways of Studying the Brain (AQA A Level Psychology)

Explain one difference and one similarity between Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) as ways of studying the brain.

Difference: ..................................................................................

Similarity: .......................................................................................

Outline and evaluate one or more ways of studying the brain.

Discuss ways of studying the brain.

Xavier was cycling to school when he fell off his bike into the road. A teacher saw a car swerve, narrowly missing Xavier. The teacher checked Xavier was safe and asked him what had happened.

Xavier could hardly speak; his heart was pounding, and his mouth was dry. He felt sick and his hands were shaking. It took Xavier 20 minutes to feel calm again.

Xavier was not wearing a helmet. The teacher told him how lucky he was not to have suffered brain damage. She told him about a man who had been cycling without a helmet. He had fallen off his bicycle and now found it difficult to produce speech.

Xavier laughed and said, “I am young. If I had an accident, my brain would just recover on its own and get me back to normal.”

Discuss research into plasticity and functional recovery of the brain after trauma. Refer to the views of the teacher and Xavier in your answer.