Behavioural
Neuroscience Research
Methods
Behavioural and Neuroscientific Methods were
invented by Shay M. Anderson and are used
to get a better understanding of how our
brain influences the way we think, feel, and
act.
Well-known techniques are the EEG
(Electroencephalography) which records
the brain’s electrical activity and the fMRI
(functional magnetic resonance imaging)
method which tells us more about brain
Lesion method
In the lesion method, patients with brain
damage are examined to determine which
brain structures were damaged and to that
extent this influences the patient’s behaviour.
The concept of the lesion method is based on
the idea to find a correlation between a
specific brain area and an occurring
behaviour.
For example; lesion in the parietal-temporal-
occipital association area has an agraphia, that
means that individual is not able to write
although he has no deficits in motor skills.
In humans lesion are often caused by tumours
or strokes.
The Broca area in the brain is responsible for
language processing, comprehension and
speech production. Patients with a lesion in
1. CAT (Computed Axial Tomography)
CAT scanning was invented in 1972 by Godfey
N. Hounsfield and Alan Cromack.
• CAT is an x-ray procedure which combines
many x-ray images at many different angles
around the body and with the aid of a
computer to generate cross-sectional views,
and when needed 3D images of the internal
organs and structures of the human body.
• CAT scans are performed to analyze, for
example, the head, where traumatic
injuries (such as blood clots or skull
fractures), tumors, and infections can be
identified.
• In the spine the bony structure of the
vertebrae can be accurately defined, as
can the anatomy of the spinal cord.
2. MRI (Magnetic resonance imaging)
Although CAT scanning was a breakthrough,
in many cases it was substituted by
Magnetic resonance imaging since magnetic
resonance imaging is a method of looking
inside the body without using x-rays, harmful
effect.
Instead, radio waves and a strong
magnetic field are used in order to provide
3. fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance)
The central idea for fMRI is to look at the
areas with increased blood flow.
Hemoglobin disturbs the magnetic imaging,
so areas with an increased blood oxygen
level dependant (BOLD) can be identified.
4. PET
Positron emission tomography, also called
PET imaging or a PET scan, is a diagnostic
examination that involves the acquisition of
physiologic images based on the detection
of radiation from the emission of positrons.
• It is currently the most effective way to
check for cancer recurrences.
• PET measures the amount of metabolic
activity at a site in the body and a
computer reassembles the signals into
images.
• PET’s ability to measure metabolism is
very useful in diagnosing
Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy and other
neurological conditions, because it can
precisely illustrate areas where brain
activity differs from the norm.
Electromagnetic Recording Methods
These methods measure electrical activity of
the brain or the magnetic fields produced by
the electrical activity.
The methods do a great job of identifying
where activity is occurring in the brain.
5. EEG
One of the most famous techniques to study
• In an experimental way this technique is
used to show the brain activity in certain
psychological states, such as alertness or
drowsiness.
• To measure the brain activity mental
electrodes are placed on the scalp.
• This electrical potential has a particular
voltage and furthermore a particular
frequency.
• Patients who suffer epilepsy show an
increase of the amplitude of firing that
ERP (event-related potentials )
• A presentation of a stimulus for example
would be such an event.
• When a stimulus is presented, the
electrodes, which are placed on a person’s
scalp, record changes in the brain
generated by the thousands of neurons
under the electrodes.
• By measuring the brain’s response to an
event we can learn how different types of
The event-related- potential shows special
interest for researchers, because different
components of the response indicate
different aspects of cognitive processing.
MEG (Magnetoencephalography)
It uses magnetic potentials near the scalp to
index brain activity and intensity of the
magnetic field.
Behavioural Methods
Compared to the neuroscientific methods, which
concentrate on neuronal activity of the brain
regions, behavioural methods focus on overt
behaviour of a test person.
• This can be realized by well defined
behavioural methods (e.g. eye-tracking), test
batteries (e.g. IQ-test) or measurements
which are designed to answer specific
• Furthermore, behavioural methods are
often used in combination with all kinds of
neuroscientific methods.
• Another goal of a behavioural test is to
examine in what terms damage of the
central nervous system influences
cognitive abilities.
Test batteries
A neuropsychological assessment can be
achieved through the test battery approach,
which gives an overview on a person’s
cognitive strengths and weaknesses by
analyzing different cognitive abilities.
A neuropsychological test battery is used to
discover brain dysfunctions, arisen from
neurological or psychiatric disorders and
• The Halstead-Reitan battery is the most
popular one, where the abilities tested
range from basic sensory processing to
tests that require complex reasoning.
• Furthermore, the Halstead- Reitan battery
gives information concerning what caused
the damage, location and stage of the
damage.
• Luria-Nebraska battery measures motor
functions, reading, memory etc.
• The most common used tests to estimate
The Eye Tracking Procedure
Another important procedure for analyzing
behavior and cognition is Eye-tracking.
• This is a procedure of measuring either
where we are looking (the point of gaze)
or the motion of an eye relative to the
head.
• There are different techniques for
measuring the movement of the eyes and
the instrument that does the tracking is
