Research Methods in Biopsychology for Memory or Mental Illness - Dissertation Example

of the of the Brain lesion is characterized as a ‘damage happening in any part of the brain caused either by inflammation, malfunctioning or destruction of brain cells or tissue (Medicine.net, 2013, p. 1)’. It is also either localized or is widespread depending on demonstrated initial symptoms and may evidently scale-up base d on the changes in the mental state. Medical experts contented that it may directly or indirectly affect neuron functions that will consequentially affect the mental state of a person, including their cognitive abilities (Medicine.net, 2013). Earlier research explained that brain lesion is caused by “acute brain injury or trauma affecting brain cells and or compression of skull that may destroy the synapse of brain cells, including concussion that can affect the thinking and the repository of human memory (Medicine.net, 2013, p. 1).” It is likewise caused by brain inflammation that may result to meningitis and encephalitis. Abscesses within the brain due to nuerocysticercosis can also cause brain lesion as parasites affect calcification (Medicine.net, 2013). Other causes of brain lesion are autoimmune diseases such as ‘sarcoidosis, amyloidosis, inflammatory bowel diseases and rheuomatoid arthritis; of cerebral infarction that inflame blood vessels; multiple sclerosis that affect the glial cells responsible of the production of myelin sheath that produces that nerve-cover axon; alzheimer’s diseases and dementias that disturb the neuron cells (Medicine.net, 2013). Uncontrolled hypertension brain tumors also metastasize brain organs such as pituitary adenomas and glioblastoma multiforme also can elaborately cause brain lesion (Medicine.net, 2013). These issues pertaining to brain lesion inspire the use of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) scanning to further explicate the nature, effects and causes of mental illness and memory loss (American Psychological Association, 2007). fMRI is a logical approach of measuring brain activity (APA, 2007). It functions to detect the developments and changes in blood oxygenation and flow that happens in accordance to neural activity responses such as when the brain area is zealous in its functions that it consumes more oxygen as it respond to the increasing demand of blood flow (APA, 2007). fMRI is also essential in the production of activation maps that can illustrate the parts of the brain that are pro-actively engaged in the mental processes (APA, 2007). The development of fMRI in the 90s was considered as the part of the scientific innovation that map brain activities including the positron emission tomography (PET) and near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), which use blood flow and oxygen metabolism to infer brain activity (APA, 2007). As a brain imaging technique, fMRI significantly assist in safe brain imaging because it is non-invasive and doesn’t involve radiation; produce excellent spatial and temporal resolution; it’s a researcher-friendly tool; and its more prominently acknowledge as helpful tool for psychologists to image moral brain function (APA, 2007). From its period of discovery, it provided new investigative insight about how memories, language, pain, learning and emotion are formed and developed. it has also been used for clinical and commercial settings (APA, 2007). Experts explicated that fMRI has ‘cylindrical tube of an MRI scanner that hosted very powerful electro-magnet that has a strength of 3 teslas (T) which is perceived to be 50,000 times greater than the Earth’s field (Devlin, 2013, p. 1).’ The magnetic field within the scanner affects the magnetic nuclei of atoms and made them aligned. It was further explained that ‘the stronger the field the greater the degree of alignment and when moved to same direction, the tiny magnetic signals from individual nuclei add up coherently resulting in a signal that is large enough to measure (Devlin, 2013, p. 1).’ The fMRI detects the magnetic signal from hydrogen nuclei in water (H2O) (Devlin, 2013). Some of the crucial part of MRI is that the ‘signal from hydrogen nuclei varies in strength depending on the influencing conditions (Devlin, 2013). This delivers ways of distinguishing ‘gray matter, white matter and cerebral spinal fluid in structural images of the brain (Devlin, 2013, p. 1).’ It can also detect the delivery of oxygen to neurons by hemoglobin in capillary red blood cells and thus document the increase oxygen flow and local responses to parts where there are rigorous neural activity (Devlin, 2013). Thus the instrument could be helpful too in determining the state of hemoglobin as diamagnetic when oxygenated and its state as paramagnetic when deoxygenated (Devlin, 2013). This difference in magnetic properties leads to small differences in the MR signal of blood depending on the degree of oxygenation. Since blood oxygenation varies according to the levels of neural activity these differences can be used to detect brain activity (Devlin, 2013). This form of MRI is known as blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) imaging (Devlin, 2013). In a study relating to quantification of developmental abnormalities in cerebral and cerebellar volume in autism, researchers maximized 60 autistic and 52 normal boys from ages 2 to 16 years and applied MRI in diagnosing and scanning their mental slates in separate occasion because other boys suffering autism were belatedly diagnosed after reaching the age of 5 years although their respective illnesses were evident while they were still 2.5 years (Courchesne, Karns, Davis, Ziccardi, Carper, Tigue, Chisum, Moses, Pierce, Lord, Lincoln, Pizzo, Schreibman, Haas, Akshoomoff & Courchesne, 2001). The findings bared ‘neonatal head circumferences from clinical records were available for 14 of 15 autistic 2- to 5-year-olds and, on average, were normal (35.1 ± 1.3 cm versus clinical norms: 34.6 ± 1.6 cm), indicative of normal overall brain volume at birth; one measure was above the 95th percentile (Courchesne et al., 2001, p. 245).” At ages 2 to 4 years, 90% of autistic boys showed that the brain volume of these boys were larger than normal average, and 37% met criteria for developmental macrencephaly (Courchesne et al., 2001, p. 245). The autistic 2- to 3-year-olds had more cerebral (18%) and cerebellar (39%) white matter, and more cerebral cortical gray matter (12%) than normal, whereas older autistic children and adolescents haven’t showed enlarged gray and white matter volumes (Courchesne et al., 2001, p. 245). In the cerebellum, autistic boys had less gray matter, smaller ratio of gray to white matter, and smaller vermis lobules VI–VII than normal controls (Courchesne et al., 2001, p. 245). The research affirmed that the use of MRI as instrument for diagnostic analysis accorded the findings that ‘abnormal regulation of brain growth in autism results in early overgrowth followed by abnormally slowed growth (Courchesne et al., 2001, p. 245).’ MRI likewise facilitated the findings that’ hyperplasia was present in cerebral gray matter and cerebral and cerebellar white matter in early life in patients with autism (Courchesne et al., 2001, p. 245). Sheline, Barch, Donnelly, Ollinger, Snyder, and Mintun (2001) also used fMRI in studying the amygdala’s core function in analysing emotions of depressed patients and in determining the mental reactions and processes in correlation to fears. Sheline et al. (2001) explicated that during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), it was observed that the ‘amygdala activation were illustrated outside of conscious awareness using masked emotional faces (p. 651).’ The researchers used fMRI for imaging and the “masked faces paradigm to patients with major depression (n = 11) and matched control subjects (n = 11) to have comparative analysis of the amygdala activation in response to masked emotional faces before and after antidepressant treatment (Sheline et al., 2001, p. 651).” They were able to analyse all information using left and right amygdala a priori regions of interest in the analysis of variance block and of the random effects model (Sheline et al., 2001, p. 651). The magnetic resonances imagine scans were combined and averaged for all respondents (Sheline et al., 2001, p. 651). Image showed that “a priori left and right amygdala regions of interest were drawn on this combined image, as shown above in axial sections, for use in analysis of variance comparisons of the effect of emotional faces on amygdala activation in depressed and control subjects (Sheline et al., 2001, p. 651).” Image also showed that the “functional data, and the first blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) run were combined from all subjects, and the regions of interest (ROIs), left and right amygdala, were superimposed (Sheline et al., 2001, p. 651).” Such further explicated that the area of susceptibility artifact can be seen anterior to, but excluding, the amygdala ROIs (Sheline et al., 2001, p. 651). Researcher concluded that “depressed patients had exaggerated left amygdala activation to all faces, greater for fearful faces and that the right amygdala did not differ from control subjects (Sheline et al., 2001, p. 651).”The fMRI therefore has aided the researchers to recommend for the suited “treatments for patients with bilateral reduced amygdala activation to masked fearful faces and bilateral reduced amygdala activation to all faces (Sheline et al., 2001, p. 651).” They further concluded that “depressed patients have left amygdala hyperarousal even when processing stimuli outside conscious awareness. Increased amygdala activation normalizes with antidepressant treatment (Sheline et al., 2001, p. 651).” As gleaned from these cited studies that used fMRI to map out the condition and interaction of brain cells among patients, it’s therefore considered that the instrument is entirely supportive of research that could help elucidate issues and illnesses that are relating to brain dysfunctions (APA, 2007). The fMRI supports observational research to help clarify and analyse the cases of each patients, including the characteristics of the phenomena as subject of study (APA, 2007). As such the fMRI are potent tool for psychological and psychiatric studies that entail extensive notes and observations of interviews. Findings of the fMRI corroborate evidential facts that could help medical experts to draw conclusions on what approach of medication that should be accorded to patient suffering any form of mental illness (APA, 2007). Thus, fMRI indeed is an advance tool for observational research. Through it, medical practitioners are able to generate causative generalization based on the observations and validation of information (APA, 2007). This is especially helpful for studies with observational method, ergo helps this is exploratory in nature, and is therefore helpful for scientific and empirical analysis of cases (APA, 2007). Moreover, the fMRI facilitate critical understanding of the correlation and covariation of patients on mental health and thus help accomplish the methodical approach in generating empirical proofs and information (APA, 2007). Therefore, fMRI is significant for clinical cases relating to brain lesion whose causes could result to brain dysfunction and affects human behaviours too (APA, 2007). The appreciation of how neurotransmitters serotonin and/or norepinephrine could be depleted when a person is in a state of depression clearly showed that fMRI is likewise a wonderful instrument for brain lesion cases (APA, 2007). Bush, Frazier, Rauch, Seidman, Whalen, Jenike, Rosen, & Biederman, (1999) affirmed the same when they had a research on the anterior cingulate cortex dysfunction in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder using fMRI and the counting stroop. That anterior “cingulate cognitive division (ACcd) is key to the completion of attentional processing because it facilitates the (a) modulating stimulus selection (i.e., focusing attention) and/or (b) mediating response selection (Bush et al., 1999, p. 1542).”Researchers also assumed that the ACcd dysfunction contributes to produce core features of “attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) such as inattention and impulsivity (Bush et al., 1999, p. 1542).” Through fMRI, they found out that “ADHD have deficits in the Color Stroop, an attentional/cognitive interference task known to recruit the ACcd (Bush et al., 1999, p. 1542).” The use of the fMRI is however further supported with “Counting Stroop, a Stroop-variant that was used to examine the functional integrity of the ACcd in ADHD (Bush et al., 1999, p. 1542).” In that study, researchers had 16 unmedicated adults from two groups (8 persons diagnosed of ADHD and the other 8 matched as control subjects) performed the Counting Stroop during fMRI (Bush et al., 1999). fMRI helped them in their analysis which generated the findings that both groups indicated interference effect to ADHD group, in contrast to control subjects which failed to activate the ACcd during the Counting Stroop (Bush et al., 1999). Their findings indicated that “persons with ADHD have active frontostriatal-insular network, indicating ACcd hypoactivity albeit this was not caused by globally poor neuronal responsiveness (Bush et al., 1999, p. 1542).” Like other cases cited, fMRI help recognize and affirmed the “hypothesized dysfunction of the ACcd in ADHD patients (Bush et al., 1999, p. 1542)” and help practitioners determine therapeutical measures to prevent disability. References American Psychological Association (2007). Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A new research tool. US: Washington, DC., pp. 1-32. Bush, G., Frazier, JA., Rauch, SL., Seidman, LJ., Whalen, PJ., Jenike, MA., Rosen, BR., Biederman, J., (1999). Anterior cingulate cortex dysfunction in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder revealed by fMRI and the counting stroop, Biological Psychiatry, Volume 45, Issue 12, 15 June 1999, Pages 1542-1552. Courchesne, E.,  Karns,C., Davis, HR., Ziccardi, R., Carper, RA., Tigue, ZD., Chisum, HJ., Moses, P., Pierce, K., Lord, C., Lincoln, AJ., Pizzo, S., Schreibman, L.,Haas, RH., Akshoomoff, NA., & Courchesne, RY (2001). Unusual brain growth patterns in early life patients with autistic disorder: An MRI study, Neurology, vol. 57, no. 2 pp. 245-254. Devlin, H. (2013). What is Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)? US: PsychCentral.com, p. 1, http://psychcentral.com/lib/what-is-functional-magnetic-resonance-imaging-fmri/0001056 Retrieved: 25 July 2013. MedicineNet, (2013). Brain lesion, US: MedicineNet.com, p. 1 http://www.medicinenet.com/brain_lesions_lesions_on_the_brain/page2.htm#what_are_brain_lesions Retrieved: 25 July 2013. Sheline, YI., Barch, DM., Donnelly, JM., Ollinger, JM., Snyder, AZ., Mintun, MA., (2001). Increased amygdala response to masked emotional faces in depressed subjects resolves with antidepressant treatment: an fMRI study, Biological Psychiatry, Volume 50, Issue 9, pp. 651-658. Read More