1. Technology and the Brain
IB syllabus says:
Technology and the Brain
Advances in technology from the field of medicine have been a great benefit to the cognitive level of analysis. PET and EEG & fMRI have developed our understanding of and the ability to investigate the relationship between the biology of cognitive processes and behavior.
Check out

2. handout & seminar on brain imaging technologies (minor)
Your task is to prepare and participate in a classroom seminar, on your assigned brain imaging technology. You will also need to create a handout.
GUIDELINES:
Your part of the seminar should last around 10 minutes
The discussion needs to be interactive, so you must have some question for the rest of the group
HANDOUT CONTENT:
Briefly explain how the technology works
Give the strengths and limitations of using this technology to find out about the biology of COGNITIVE processes
Identify and explain a research study which shows how the particular brain imaging technology has been used to investigate cognitive processes.
APA bibliography required
No longer than two sides – print out a class set of the handout for the seminar.

3. Group 1: EEG (the electroencephalogram)
PREPARING THE HANDOUT & SEMINAR
Look at the 3rd paragraph on p.45 of you textbook for a description of how the technology works
Search for some pictures of the technology being used and include this in your handout.
For the strengths and limitations, do a table summarizing these points on the document ‘The strengths and limitations of the technologies’ document attached to the wiki. *Also find info under - look at the relevant section of the Bio & Cognitive LOAs – there are PowerPoint's here.*
Present the aims, procedures, findings and conclusions of the Hoffman et al. (2001) ‘EEG study of the effects of Psychedelic tea’ attached to the wiki (keep this very brief!) – make it very clear how the study shows the relationship between the biology of COGNITIVE processes and behavior
Prepare at least 5 questions to engage the rest of the group.
Make sure you reference the handout in APA format

4. Group 2: fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging)
PREPARING THE HANDOUT & SEMINAR
Look at the 5th paragraph on p.45 of you textbook for a description of how the technology works
Search for some pictures of the technology being used and include this in your handout.
For the strengths and limitations, do a table based on the points in the blue box on the bottom of p.45 of the textbook, and the ‘The strengths and limitations of the technologies’ document attached to the wiki. *Also find info under - look at the relevant section of the Bio & Cognitive LOAs – there are PowerPoint's here.*
Present the aims, procedures, findings and conclusions of the Kilts(2003) ‘fMRI the role of the brain in product preferences’ on p.87 of the textbook (keep this very brief!) – make it very clear how the study shows the relationship between the biology of COGNITIVE processes and behavior.
Prepare at least 5 questions to engage the rest of the group.
Make sure you reference the handout in APA format

5. Group 3: PET (Positron Emission Topography)
PREPARING THE HANDOUT & SEMINAR
Look at the 4th paragraph on p.45 of you textbook for a description of how the technology works.
Search for some pictures of the technology being used and include this in your handout.
For the strengths and limitations, do a table based on the points on the document attached to the wiki called ‘The strengths and limitations of the technologies’. *Also find info under - look at the relevant section of the Bio & Cognitive LOAs – there are PowerPoint's here.*
Present the aims, procedures, findings and conclusions of the Davidson's (2004) study ‘PET study of Mediation with Buddhist monks’ on p.47 of the textbook (keep this very brief!) – make it very clear how the study shows the relationship between the biology of COGNITIVE processes and behavior.
Prepare at least 5 questions to engage the rest of the group.
Make sure you reference the handout in APA format

6. Rubric….

7. Brain Imaging Technologies: Mini LAQ writing…
Your task is to write a mini LAQ on this topic, use the outline below as a guide…. to
Discuss the use of brain imaging technologies (e.g. EEG, fMRI, PET) in investigating cognitive processes
Intro:
Explain how you will answer the question “this paper will discuss the use of three brain imaging technologies, focusing on EEG, CAT, PET and fMRI’ through discussing the methods themselves and the research support”.
Thesis: “These technologies from the field of medicine each have their strengths and limitations, however, they have been able to give us considerable insight into the relationship between cognitive factors and behavior”
1st Para:
Briefly explain how EEG works
Give details of study using EEG – make sure that you clearly state what the study tells us about the relationship between cognitive factors and behavior.
Give Evaluative Points for use of EEG
Connect back to the question e.g. event though the technology has limitations it has been beneficial in the study of the relationship between cognitive factors and behavior
2nd Para:
Briefly explain how fMRI works
Give details of study using fMRI– make sure that you clearly state what the study tells us about the relationship between cognitive factors and behavior.
Give Evaluative Points for use of fMRI
Connect back to the question e.g. even though the technology has limitations it has been beneficial in the study of the relationship between cognitive factors and behavior
3rd Para:
Briefly explain how PET works
Give details of study using PET– make sure that you clearly state what the study tells us about the relationship between cognitive factors and behavior.
Give Evaluative Points for use of PET
Conclusion:
Refer back to the question and comment on the overall effectiveness of the use of brain imaging technologies in investigating the relationship between cognitive factors and behavior