Lesson 4.2.2.4

4.2.2.4 Ways of studying the brain Quiz: AQA Psychology, Unit 2

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 4.2.2.4, Ways of studying the brain: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA Psychology (7182), Unit 2: Psychology in context, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What does functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) detect to measure brain activity?

    • Blood oxygenation
    • Glucose metabolism
    • Radioactive tracers
    • Electrical activity

  2. What does an electroencephalogram (EEG) measure to record brain activity?

    • Blood oxygenation
    • Brain tissue density
    • Glucose consumption
    • Electrical activity

  3. What type of data is extracted by averaging multiple EEG trials to a stimulus?

    • Structural MRIs
    • Autonomic readings
    • Event-related potentials
    • Post-mortem scans

  4. What is the main purpose of conducting a post-mortem brain examination?

    • Measuring live electrical activity
    • Recording sleep cycle patterns
    • Identifying physical abnormalities
    • Tracking real-time blood flow

  5. Compared with EEG, what relative resolution strengths does fMRI possess?

    • Low spatial high temporal
    • High spatial high temporal
    • Low spatial low temporal
    • High spatial low temporal

  6. Why does EEG provide high temporal resolution for studying brain activity?

    • Superior spatial mapping
    • Cellular structure analysis
    • Direct blood-flow tracking
    • Millisecond detection speed

  7. What is a major methodological limitation of post-mortem brain studies?

    • Excessive radiation exposure
    • Unsafe magnetic field strength
    • Poor spatial resolution
    • Inability to show function

  8. Which brain-scanning technique offers the highest temporal resolution?

    • Post-mortem
    • fMRI
    • EEG
    • PET scan

  9. A researcher wants to pinpoint which area of the brain becomes more active during a memory task. Which technique is most suitable?

    • EEG
    • Event-related potentials
    • Post-mortem examination
    • fMRI

  10. What is inferred if a post-mortem study finds damage in Broca's area?

    • Speech production involvement
    • Language comprehension deficit
    • Visual processing failure
    • Motor coordination loss

  11. What physiological change does fMRI directly detect to measure brain activity?

    • Blood oxygenation levels
    • Electrical spike frequency
    • Cerebrospinal fluid pressure
    • Neurotransmitter concentration

  12. Why do researchers average many ERP trials together during brain scanning?

    • Enhance magnetic field strength
    • Reduce background noise
    • Increase participant fatigue
    • Speed up blood flow

  13. Which brain imaging technique relies on magnetic fields and radio waves?

    • PET scan
    • X-ray imaging
    • CT scan
    • MRI

  14. Why does fMRI have poor temporal resolution?

    • Slow blood-flow response
    • Surface electrode limits
    • High electrical noise
    • Low spatial precision

  15. What is the main advantage of using EEG over fMRI?

    • High temporal resolution
    • Deep brain localisation
    • Cellular resolution
    • High spatial precision

  16. Which brain scanning technique measures electrical activity via scalp electrodes?

    • EEG
    • Post-mortem
    • fMRI
    • PET scan

  17. What is a major advantage of post-mortem examinations in psychology?

    • Real-time recording
    • High temporal detail
    • Detailed cellular analysis
    • Measures live activity

  18. The BOLD signal in fMRI measures changes in which substance?

    • Electrical voltage
    • Neurotransmitter density
    • Oxygenated haemoglobin
    • Glucose concentration

  19. Which combination of methods provides both high spatial and high temporal resolution?

    • fMRI and post-mortem
    • EEG and PET
    • ERP and post-mortem
    • fMRI and EEG

  20. Why do brain scans only provide correlational rather than causal evidence?

    • Absolute localisation
    • Association not causation
    • Direct neural manipulation
    • High temporal resolution

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